BANCROFT 

LIBRARY 
•> 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


.ELAND  STANFORD  JUNIOR  UNIVERSITY  PUBLICATIONS 


HISTORY  AND  ECONOMICS 


OFFICIAL  RELATIONS 


BETWEEN   THE 


UNITED  STATES  AND  THE  SIOUX 
INDIANS 


BY 

LUCY  E.  TEXTOE,  M.  A. 


PALO  ALTO,  CALIFORNIA 
PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY 
1896 


MAP  SHOWING  LOCATION  OF  THE  Sioux  IN  1893. 

II. 


LELAND  STANFORD  JUNIOR  UNIVERSITY  PUBLICATIONS 

HISTORY  AND  ECONOMICS 

a 


OFFICIAL  RELATIONS 


BETWEEN   THE 


UNITED  STATES  AND  THE  SIOUX 
INDIANS 


BY 

LUCY  E.'TEXTOK,  M.  A. 


PALO  ALTO,  CALIFORNIA 
PUBLISHED  BY  THE  UNIVERSITY 
1896 


COPYRIGHT,  1896, 
BY  LUCY  E.  TEXTOIL 


I 


EDITORIAL  NOTE. 


It  is  conceded  that  anything  like  an  ideal  general  history  of  the 
United  States  is  impossible  until  the  whole  field  of  investigation  has 
been  minutely  explored  by  a  host  of  separate  workers.  Indeed,  it  is  in 
the  production  of  a  rapidly  increasing  monographic  literature,  compris- 
ing the  results  of  such  special  research,  that  the  American  Universities 
are  rendering  a  most  useful  service.  The  historical  Seminary  finds  here- 
its  proper  sphere.  In  the  main,  the  materials  for  our  social,  institu- 
tional, and  administrative  history  have  yet  to  be  gathered.  Especially- 
is  this  true  of  the  relations  of  the  Government  with  the  red  race.  Before 
a  complete  and  trustworthy  account  of  its  dealings  with  the  Indian  can 
be  written,  we  must  possess  a  detailed  study  of  each  tribe  or  group  ; 
and  who  can  doubt  that  the  result  of  such  a  labor  will  be  of  the  great- 
est sociological  and  ethical  importance  ?  It  is  hoped  that  the  publication 
of  this  tentative  study  of  the  Sioux  will  not  be  without  value  as  a  con- 
tribution to  that  result. 

It  remains  to  express  the  grateful  acknowledgments  of  the  Histori- 
cal Department  to  Mr.  Joseph  Hutchinson,  of  Palo  Alto,  through  whose 
generous  appreciation  Miss  Textor's  paper  is  now  published. 

G.  E.  H. 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

AN  OUTLINE  OP  THE  INDIAN  POLICY  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

•» 

Introduction,  attitude  of  the  United  States  toward  the  Indians 11 

Land  rights  of  the  Indians ;  principles  upon  which  they  have  been 

determined 12 

Condition  of  the  thirteen  States  in  1789 15 

Attitude  of  the  Indians  toward  the  Government 15 

Early  national  policy :  non-intervention,  friendship,  and  civiliza- 
tion, 1789-1825 17 

Removal  of  the  Indians  west  of  the  Mississippi,  1825-1838 21 

Monroe's  message  of  January  27,  1825,  advocating  removal 21 

Act  of  May  28,  1830,  authorizing  removal 23 

Results  of  removal  policy i 24 

Increase  of  the  public  domain  between  1845  and  1855 25 

Effect  upon  the  Indian  question 26 

Policy  toward  the  wilder  tribes :  concentration  upon  reservations . .  27 
Policy  toward  the  more  civilized  tribes:  land  in  severalty  and 

agriculture 27 

Colonization  of  the  California  Indians  on  the  old  mission  plan 28 

Peace  Commission  of  1867,  appointed  to  remove  the  causes  of  the 

wars  between  1860  and  1870 29 

Peace  policy  beginning  1870 32 

The  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners  appointed  to  assist  in  dis- 
bursements   33 

Co-operation  of  religious  societies  with  the  Government 33 

The  feeding  system ;  concentration  and  support  of  the  wilder  tribes  34 

Act  of  March  3,  1871,  denationalizing  Indian  tribes 36 

The  more  civilized  tribes  to  be  taught  self-maintenance 37 

Slaughter  of  buffalo  as  affecting  the  Indians  and  the  policy  toward 

them 38 

Results  of  the  peace  policy  39 

The  reform  movement,  1882-1895 40 

Land  in  severalty  and  citizenship 41 


VI  CONTENTS. 

Three  steps  toward  the  establishment  of  law 46 

The  growth  of  the  educational  idea  as  seen  in  increased  appropria- 
tions and  other  legislation 50 

Evils  to  be  guarded  against  in  the  reform  movement 54 

Further  action  needed 55 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE  Sioux  FROM  1803  TO  1850. 

Purchase  of  Louisiana,  1803 56 

Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition  into  the  new  country 57 

Number  and  location  of  the  Sioux  as  determined  by  the  explorers.  57 

Status  of  the  various  bands 58 

Pike's  expedition  to  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi .  61 

The  English  and  the  fur  trade  of  the  North 62 

Treaties  of  1815  with  the  Sioux,  re-establishing  peace  and  friend- 
ship  , 63 

Treaty  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  1825,  defining  the  territorial  boundaries 

of  the  warring  tribes. . . , 64 

•Other  treaties  of  1825,  made  in  the  interests  of  peace 64 

Treaty  of  July  15, 1830,  ceding  land 65 

Treaty  of  1836,  ceding  land  to  the  State  of  Missouri 67 

Treaty  of  1837,  ceding  all  lands  east  of  the  Mississippi 67 

Status  of  the  Sioux  in  1850 70 

Abundance  or  scarcity  of  game  an  important  factor  in  determining 

the  national  policy 71 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  Sioux  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  FROM  1850  TO  1893. 

Lamentable  condition  of  the  Mississippi  Sioux  in  1850 73 

Treaties  of  1851,  ceding  land 73 

Trouble  in  regard  to  the  Minnesota  reservation 75 

Treatment  of  the  Sioux  during  the  early  fifties 75 

Spirit  Lake  and  Springfield  massacres  of  March,  1857 77 

Treaties  of  1858  providing  for  the  reduction  of  the  reservation  and 

the  allotment  of  land  in  severalty 78 


CONTENTS.  VII 

Causes  of  the  war  of  1862 81 

Dispersion  of  the  Sioux 83 

Repeated  removal  of  the  Crow  Creek  Indians 83 

Condition  of  these  Sioux  between  1863  and  1868 84 

Treaty  of  1868  with  Santee  Sioux,  providing  for  allotment  in  sever- 

alty  and  education 85 

Patents  of  Santee  Sioux  declared  of  legal  effect,  June  30, 1884 85 

Act  of  February  9, 1885,  throwing  Santee  reservation  open  to  set- 
tlement    85 

Act  of  March,  1889,  allotting  land  to  those  not  hitherto  provided 

for 86 

Flandreau  Sioux  located  upon  homesteads 86 

Treaty  of  1867  with  Sisseton  and  Wahpeton  Sioux  near  Fort  Wads- 
worth,  locating  them  upon  reservations 87 

Agreement  with  them  ceding  rights  to  all  land  outside  of  their 

reservations,  September  22,  1872 90 

Agreement  of  December  12,  1889,  with  Lake  Traverse  Sioux,  reduc- 
ing reservation 91 

Status  of  Lake  Traverse  Sioux 93 

Incorrect  boundary  line  of  Devil's  Lake  reservation 93 

Status  of  Devil's  Lake  Indians. . .  94 


CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  Sioux  OF  THE  PLAINS  FROM  1850  TO  1893. 

Status  about  1850 95 

Increase  of  white  immigration  westward 96 

Fort  Laramie  Treaty  of  February  17, 1851,  giving  the  United  States 

the  right  to  establish  roads  through  the  Indian  country 96 

Condition  of  the  Sioux  during  the  next  few  years 97 

Grattan  massacre  of  1854 97 

Sioux  war  of  1855 98 

Council  of  the  tribes  with  General  Harney  in  1856 99 

The  so-called  "  Harney  treaty  "  of  1856,  its  provisions  and  results.  100 

Events  of  the  next  few  years  ;  warlike  attitude  of  the  Indians 102 

Commission  of  1865,  appointed  to  treat  with  the  bands  of  the  Up- 
per Missouri 104 

Treaty  with  the  Minneconjou,  illustrative  of  the  nine  Sioux  treaties 

made  by  the  Commission 105 


VIII  CONTENTS. 

Temper  of  the  Indians  as  indicated  by  these  treaties 107 

Causes  of  the  war  of  1866 108 

Commission  of  July  20, 1867,  appointed  to  treat  with  the  Indians . .  110 

Treaty  of  April  29,  1868,  settling  the  Sioux  upon  a  reservation 110 

Depredations  of  the  bands  not  party  to  the  above  treaty ,  116 

Order  of  General  Sheridan  commanding  all  friendly  Indians  to  go 

to  the  reservation 116 

Invasion  of  the  reservation  by  the  whites 117 

Sale  of  hunting  right  to  land  in  Nebraska  by  Red  Cloud  and  Spotted 

Tail  agencies 119 

Failure  of  the  Commission  of  1875  to  purchase  the  Black  Hills  and 

the  Big  Horn  country 119 

Action  of  the  War  Department  against  the  Indians  not  party  to 

the  treaty  of  1868 120 

War  of  1876 121 

Cession  of  1876  of  the  right  to  any  land  west  of  the  one  hundred 

and  third  meridian  of  longitude 123 

Fruitless  councils  with  the  hostiles  ;  their  retreat  to  Canada 124 

Causes  of  the  stagnation  of  the  Sioux  during  the  seventies 126 

Progress  between  1880  and  1890 127 

Agitation  to  reduce  the  reservation 128 

Agreement  of  March  2,  1889,  ceding  nine  million  acres  of  land  to 

the  United  States 129 

Causes  of  the  outbreak  of  1890 131 

The  Messiah  craze  ;  demoralizing  influence  upon  the  Indians 133 

Troops  ordered  to  the  Sioux  agencies 135 

Capture  of  Sitting  Bull  by  the  Indian  police 135 

Concentration  of  the  Indians  upon  the  "  bad  lands  " 136 

The  fight  at  Wounded  Knee  creek 136 

Visit  of  a  Sioux  Commission  to  Washington  and  the  settlement  of 

difficulties 137 

Significance  of  the  outbreak  of  1890 138 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  YANKTONS. 

History  of  the  Yanktons  separate  from  that  of  the  other  Sioux  of 

the  Plains 140 

Claims  ignored  in  the  treaty  of  1851  with  the  Mississippi  Sioux. ...  140 

Treaty  of  1858  providing  reservation 141 


CONTENTS.  IT 

Progress  during  the  next  thirty  years 143 

Negotiations  of  the  committee,  appointed  October  1,  1892,  to  buy 

the  unallotted  lands 145 

Present  status  of  the  Yanktons . .  147 


CHAPTER  VI. 

STATUS  OF  THE  Sioux  IN  1893. 

Sioux  under  the  supervision  of  ten  agencies 14$ 

Progress  at  Sisseton,  Santee,  Yankton,  and  Devil's  Lake  agencies.  149 

Crow  Creek  and  Lower  Brule"  agencies 150 

Pine  Ridge,  Rosebud,  Standing  Rock,  Cheyenne  River,  and  Fort 

Peck  agencies 150 

Civilization  statistics 151 

Duty  of  the  Government  toward  the  Sioux 151 


Erratum. 
Page  94,  last  line  of  text,  for  "  Indians  "  read  Citizens. 


OFFICIAL  RELATIONS 


BETWEEN   THE 


United  States  and  the  Sioux  Indians, 


CHAPTER  I. 

AN  OUTLINE  OF  THE  INDIAN  POLICY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Probably  no  one  would  maintain  that  the  United  States, 
from  the  adoption  of  its  Constitution  to  the  present  day, 
ever  intentionally  wronged  the  Indians  ;  but  of  the  fact 
that  it  has  wronged  them  there  can  be  no  question. 
This  discrepancy  is  to  a  certain  extent  inherent  in  the 
very  nature  of  the  case.  Not  until  we  understood  the 
character  of  the  Indians  and  of  our  own  civilization 
could  we  adopt  a  consistent  attitude.  But  the  mistake 
lay  in  the  fact  that  no  attempt  was  made  to  understand 
either,  that  we  did  not  throw  all  the  light  of  reason  and 
scientific  inquiry  upon  the  problem  and  diligently  apply 
ourselves  to  its  solution.  On  the  contrary,  a  policy  of  tem- 
porary expediency  was  adopted,  to  relieve  evils  which, 
unless  otherwise  treated,  must  remain  permanent.  It  is 
true  that  we  did  not  always  regard  this  expediency  as 
temporary,  but  we  must  have  so  regarded  it,  if  we  had 
not  persistently  closed  our  eyes  to  the  facts  of  the  case. 
Happily  all  this  does  not  refer  to  the  present  policy.  We 


12  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

are  now  earnestly  studying  the  question,  and,  whatever 
the  outcome,  will  have  reason  to  believe  that  we  have 
done  our  best. 

Any  discussion  of  our  policy  must  be  preceded  by  an 
inquiry  into  the  recognized  land  rights  of  the  Indians. 
This  inquiry  cannot  be  based  upon  the  principles  of  ab- 
stract justice,  for  man's  conception  of  these  must  vary 
with  the  age  in  which  he  lives,  and  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury must  find  it  a  difficult  matter  to  pass  judgment  upon 
the  views  of  a  less  enlightened  age.  On  the  other  hand, 
since  the  right  of  society  to  prescribe  those  rules  by 
which  property  may  be  acquired  and  preserved  cannot 
be  drawn  into  question,  and  since  the  title  of  lands  must 
be  admitted  to  depend  entirely  on  the  nation  in  which 
they  lie,  it  will  be  necessary  to  examine  those  principles 
which  the  Government  has  adopted  in  this  particu- 
lar case  and  which  must  be  the  basis  of  our  decision.* 

"  On  the  discovery  of  this  immense  continent  the  great 
nations  of  Europe  were  eager  to  appropriate  to  them- 
selves so  much  of  it  as  they  could  respectively  acquire. 
*  *  *  But,  as  they  were  all  in  pursuit  of  nearly  the 
same  object,  it  was  necessary,  in  order  to  avoid  conflicting 
settlements  and  consequent  war  with  each  other,  to  estab- 
lish a  principle  which  all  should  acknowledge  as  the  law 
by  which  the  right  of  acquisition,  which  they  all  asserted, 
should  be  regulated  as  between  themselves.  This  prin- 
ciple was,  that  discovery  gave  title  to  the  government  by 
whose  subjects  or  by  whose  authority  it  was  made  against 
all  other  European  governments,  which  title  might  be 
consummated  by  possession.  The  exclusion  of  all  other 


*  Quoted  in  substance.    Introduction  to  Indian  Treaties  :    U.  S. 
Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  1. 


OUTLINE    OF   THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  13 

Europeans  necessarily  gave  to  the  nation  making  the 
discovery  the  sole  right  of  acquiring  the  soil  from  the 
natives,  and  establishing  settlements  upon  it.  It  was  a 
right  with  which  no  European  could  interfere.  It  was 
a  right  which  all  asserted  for  themselves,  and  to  the  asser- 
tion of  which  by  others  all  assented.  *  *  *  While 
the  different  nations  of  Europe  respected  the  right  of  the 
natives  as  occupants,  they  asserted  the  ultimate  domin- 
ion to  be  in  themselves,  and  claimed  and  exercised  as  a 
consequence  of  this  ultimate  dominion  a  power  to  grant 
the  soil  while  yet  in  possession  of  the  natives.  These 
grants  have  been  understood  by  all  to  convey  a  title  to 
the  grantees,  subject  only  to  the  Indian  right  of  occu- 
pancy/'* 

The  preceding  extract  from  the  opinion  of  Chief  Justice 
Marshall  in  the  case  of  Johnson  vs.  Mclntosh  is  amply 
supported  by  history.  France,  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Hol- 
land based  their  claim  to  American  lands  upon  rights 
given  by  discovery,  and  no  one  of  these  powers  gave  its 
assent  to  this  principle  more  unequivocally  than  did 
England.f 

When  the  United  States  came  into  possession  of  the 
vast  territories  now  included  within  its  boundaries,  it 
received  also  the  rights  by  which  these  territories  had 
previously  been  held.}  It  maintained,  "  as  all  others 
have  maintained,  that  discovery  gave  an  exclusive  right 
to  extinguish  the  Indian  title  of  occupancy,  either  by 


*  Marshall,  C.  J.,  Johnson  vs.  Mclntosh :  Wheaton,  VIII,  572  ff. 

t  See  Introduction  to  Indian  Treaties:  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large, 
VII,  2-6. 

t  Ibid.,  6-7. 


14  RELATIONS   WITH   THE   SIOUX   INDIANS. 

purchase  or  by  conquest ;  *  and  gave  also  a  right  to  such 
a  degree  of  sovereignty  as  the  circumstances  of  the  peo- 
ple would  allow  it  to  exercise."f 

The  original  rights  of  the  Indians  were  thus  much  im- 
paired. Nevertheless,  the  tribes  were  looked  upon  as 
distinct,  independent  political  communities.  The  term 
"  nation  "  was  applied  to  them,  and  the  Constitution,  by 
declaring  the  treaties  already  made  and  those  to  be  made 
the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  admitted  their  rank 
among  those  powers  capable  of  making  treaties. J  This 
inconsistency  between  fact  and  theory  was  recognized  in 
the  case,  The  Cherokee  Nation  vs.  The  State  of  Georgia. 
"  It  may  well  be  doubted,"  we  read  here,  "  whether  those 
tribes  which  reside  within  the  acknowledged  boundaries 
of  the  United  States  can,  with  strict  accuracy,  be  denom- 
inated foreign  nations.  They  may  more  correctly, 
perhaps,  be  denominated  domestic  dependent  nations. 
They  occupy  a  territory  to  which  we  assert  a  title,  inde- 
pendent of  their  will,  which  must  take  effect  in  point  of 
possession,  when  their  right  of  possession  ceases — mean- 
while they  are  in  a  state  of  pupilage.  Their  relations  to 
the  United  States  resemble  that  of  a  ward  to  his  guar- 
dian. They  look  to  our  Government  for  protection  ;  rely 
upon  its  kindness  and  its  power  ;  appeal  to  it  for  relief  to 


*  "  Except  only  in  the  case  of  the  Sioux  Indians  in  Minnesota,  after 
the  outbreak  of  1862,  the  Government  has  never  extinguished  an  Indian 
title  as  by  right  of  conquest ;  and  in  this  case  the  Indians  were  provided 
with  another  reservation,  and  subsequently  were  paid  the  net  proceeds 
arising  from  the  sale  of  the  land  vacated  " :  Report  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Indian  Affairs  for  1890,  xxix. 

t  Introduction  to  Indian  Treaties :    U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  7. 

*  See  Worcester  vs.  The  State  of  Georgia :  Peters,  VI,  519. 


OUTLINE   OF   THE   INDIAN    POLICY.  15 

their  wants  ;  and  address  the  President  as  their  Great 
Father."* 

So  much  for  the  status  of  the  Indians.  We  turn  now 
to  our  early  policy  toward  them.  In  order  to  understand 
the  attitude  of  the  Government  during  its  first  thirty 
years,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  clear  conception  of  the 
condition  of  the  thirteen  original  States.  It  is  true  that 
they  possessed  a  broad  territory  of  abundant  resources, 
but  it  is  equally  true  that  their  population  occupied 
only  a  narrow  belt  along  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Westward 
lay  an  unbroken  wilderness.  The  valleys  of  the  Tennes- 
see and  Ohio  were  one  vast  solitude,  penetrated  only  by 
a  few  of  the  most  hardy  trappers.  Even  the  frontier  line 
extending  from  Maine  to  Georgia  was  undefended  in 
many  places  and  afforded  the  Indians  copious  opportu- 
nity to  attack  the  white  settlements.  The  States,  there- 
fore, must  have  keenly  suffered  in  the  face  of  a  general 
Indian  war.f 

Yet  such  a  war  actually  threatened  them.  The 
close  of  the  Revolution  found  the  Indians  far  from 
friendly  to  the  new  Republic.  During  the  war  with 
England  there  had  been  a  continuous  series  of  conflicts 
between  the  frontiersmen  and  their  dusky  neighbors. 
The  latter  had  been  continually  "  urged  on  by  the  Brit- 
ish, who  furnished  them  with  arms,  ammunition,  and 
provisions,  and  sometimes  also  with  leaders  and  with 
bands  of  auxiliary  white  troops,  French,  British,  and 
tories."J 


*  The  Cherokee  Nation  vs.  The  State  of  Georgia:  Peters,  V,  1-2. 
t  For  the  condition  of  the  States  at  this  time,  see  McMaster,  History 
of  the  People  of  the  United  States,  I,  3-4. 

£  Roosevelt,  Winning  of  the  West,  II,  373. 


16  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

The  peace  of  1783  did  not  much  improve  the  condition 
of  affairs  between  these  two  hostile  forms  of  society. 
The  Indians  continued  their  murders  and  depredations, 
and  the  whites  their  reprisals.  The  most  fruitful  sources 
of  discord  were  indefinite  boundary  lines,*  the  trespass  of 
the  whites  upon  Indian  lands  in  search  of  game,f  and 
the  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  States  to  increase  their 
territory.  On  the  other  hand  the  Indians  themselves 
were  ready  to  rise  at  the  least  provocation  and  were 
spurred  on  to  hostilities  by  England \  and  Spain. § 

At  this  crisis  fortune  blessed  the  United  States  with  a 
President  better  fitted  than  any  one  of  his  contempora- 
ries to  cope  with  this  difficult  state  of  affairs.  In  addition 
to  an  intimate  and  practical  knowledge  of  the  conditions 
of  border  life,  George  Washington  was  endowed  with 
statesmanship  of  the  highest  order.  He  saw  that  the 
best  interests  of  the  two  races  demanded  that  they  be 
kept  apart,  that  inevitable  conflict  must  result  from  the 
contact  of  the  frontiersmen  and  the  natives.  Hence 
he  discouraged  the  projection  of  isolated  colonies  into 
the  western  country,  and  urged  that  the  barrier  inter- 
posed between  the  white  and  the  red  men  be  made  con- 
tinuous, and  the  settlements  to  the  east  of  that  barrier 
compact.!  The  policy  thus  begun  was  followed  by  Wash- 


*  The  act  of  May  19,  1796,  provided  that  Indian  boundary  lines  be 
definitely  marked.  See  TJ.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  I,  469.  Many  of  the 
treaties  made  with  the  various  tribes  between  1790  and  1820  contained  a 
like  provision.  See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  Index. 

t  Adams,  History  of  the  United  States,  VI,  70. 
\  American  State  Papers,  Ind.  Affrs.,  I,  480. 
§  Ibid.,  378;  Lodge,  George  Washington,  II,  92. 
II  Writings  of  Washington,  X,  307. 


OUTLINE    OF   THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  17 

ington's  successors  and  found  its  best  exponent  in  the 
Intercourse  Laws,  which  made  the  most  rigid  provision 
for  keeping  the  two  races  apart.* 

Meanwhile,  however,  the  present  condition  .of  affairs 
had  to  be  dealt  with.  War  existed  on  the  frontier,  and 
the  Indians  were  loud  in  their  accusations  of  ill  treat- 
ment on  the  part  of  our  Government  and  its  people,  and 
fierce  in  their  revenge  of  the  wrongs  committed  against 
them.  Washington  made  use  of  every  "  reasonable 
pacific  measure  "f  to  bring  about  peace  ;  and,  for  this 
purpose,  endeavored  to  check  the  spirit  of  speculation 
in  lands,!  and  to  further  the  making  of  treaties  which 
should  definitely  settle  boundary  lines  and  place  the 
relations  of  the  Government  and  the  Indians  upon  a 
firm  basis.  He  was  above  all  convinced  that  peace  could 
be  secured  and  maintained  only  by  treating  the  aborigi- 
nes with  strictest  justice. §  But,  should  it  be  impossible 
to  end  hostilities  by  conciliation,  he  was  of  the  opinion 
that  "  sound  policy  and  good  economy"  pointed  "  to  a 
prompt  and  decisive  effort,  rather  than  to  defensive  and 
lingering  operations. "|| 

The  principle  of  non-intervention  was  thus  one  of  the 


*  See  act  of  July  22,  1790  :  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  I,  137-8  ;  act  of 
March  1,  1793  :  ibid.,  329-32  ;  act  of  May  19,  1796  :  ibid.,  469-74  ;  act 
of  January  17,  1800  :  ibid.,  II,  6-7  ;  act  of  March  30,  1802  :  ibid.,  139- 
46  ;  act  of  April  29,  1816  :  ibid.,  Ill,  332-3  ;  act  of  March  3, 1817  :  ibid., 
383  ;  act  of  May  6,  1822  :  ibid.,  682-3. 

t  Writings  of  Washington,  XI,  466. 

t  Ibid.,  XII,  70. 

§  J6id.,XI,  466. 

II  Ibid.  Despite  the  wisdom  of  Washington's  policy  it  met  with 
much  adverse  criticism.  See  Abridgment  of  Debates,  I,  341  ff  ;  Lodge, 
Washington,  II,  102-3. 


18  RELATIONS   WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

main  features  of  our  early  policy.  This  principle  recog- 
nized, as  we  have  seen,  the  natural  antagonism  between 
the  two  races  and  aimed  to  keep  them  apart.  But  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  contact  was  inevitable  and  must  increase 
with  the  advance  of  our  frontier.  It  was  Washington's 
object  to  make  these  necessary  relations  as  harmonious 
as  possible  by  attaching  the  Indians  to  our  Government. 
In  his  fifth  annual  address  of  December  3,  1793,  he  said  : 

"  Next  to  a  vigorous  execution  of  justice  on  the  viola- 
tors of  peace,  the  establishment  of  commerce  with  the 
Indian  nations,  on  behalf  of  the  United  States,  is  most 
likely  to  conciliate  their  attachment.  But  it  ought  to  be 
conducted  without  fraud,  without  extortion,  with  constant 
and  plentiful  supplies,  with  a  ready  market  for  the  com- 
modities of  the  Indians,  and  a  stated  price  for  what  they 
give  in  payment  and  receive  in  exchange.  Individuals 
will  not  pursue  such  a  traffic  unless  they  be  allured  by 
the  hope  of  profit ;  but  it  will  be  enough  for  the  United 
States  to  be  reimbursed  only."* 

These  suggestions  of  Washington  were  afterwards  em- 
bodied in  the  act  of  April  18,  1796,f  authorizing  the 
establishment  of  trading-houses  "for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  on  a  liberal  trade  with  the  several  Indian 
nations,"  and  appropriating  $150,000  toward  this  end. 
The  act  was  originally  passed  for  two  years,  but  was 
renewed!  from  time  to  time  until  1822,  when  the  Govern- 
ment trading-houses  were  abolished.  § 

*  James,  English  Institutions  and  the  American  Indian,  36.  In 
connection  with  this  subject,  see  also  Writings  of  Washington,  XII,  497. 

t  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  I,  452-3.  Previous  to  this  there  had  been 
passed  the  act  of  March  3,  1795,  appropriating  $50,000  for  the  purchase 
of  goods  to  be  sold  to  the  Indians.  See  Annals  of  Congress,  1793-95,  p.  1532. 

$  In  1802,  1803,  1806,  and  1815. 

$  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  III,  679-80. 


OUTLINE    OF   THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  19 

The  object  of  the  factory  system  was  two-fold  :  (1)  to 
secure  the  friendship*  of  the  Indians  by  supplying  their 
wants  ;  (2)  to  supplant  the  British  trader  whose  influence 
over  the  tribes  was  at  that  time  very  great.f  These  two 
ends  were  not  attained.  The  Indians  did  not  take  kindly 
to  Government  trading,  and  the  English  trader  was  not 
dislodged.]!' 


*  In  addition  to  the  establishment  of  trading-houses  there  was 
other  conciliatory  legislation,  as,  for  example,  the  act  of  May  13,  1800, 
authorizing  the  President  to  issue  such  rations  as  he  should  judge  proper 
and  as  could  be  easily  spared  from  the  army  provisions  to  Indians  visit- 
ing the  "  military  posts  of  the  United  States  on  the  frontiers  or  within 
their  respective  nations."  The  President  was  furthermore  empowered 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  Indians  visiting  the  seat  of  Government  and 
to  give  them  presents.  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  II,  85. 

t  Annals  of  Congress,  4th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  231.  Later  a  third  argu- 
ment was  advanced  in  favor  of  the  factories.  It  was  urged  that  they  had 
a  civilizing  influence  ;  and  Jefferson  advocated  that  they  be  multiplied 
in  order  that  those  things  might  be  placed  within  the  reach  of  the  In- 
dians which  would  "  contribute  more  to  their  domestic  comfort  than  the 
possession  of  extensive,  but  uncultivated  wilds."  American  State 
Papers,  Ind.  Affs.,  I,  684. 

I  The  two  chief  reasons  for  this  failure  were  these :  (1)  The  Govern- 
ment licensed  private  traders  who  competed  with  the  factories.  (2)  The 
advantages  of  the  British  trader  were  such  as  enabled  him  to  maintain 
his  supremacy.  He  had  behind  him  the  prestige  of  his  government.  Eng- 
lish officers  of  the  Indian  Department  were  given  military  brevet  rank, 
a  fact  of  no  mean  importance  considering  how  much  Indians  are  influ- 
enced by  a  showy  exterior,  and  English  agents  were  required  to  know  at 
least  one  Indian  language.  Furthermore,  the  British  trader  was  allied 
to  his  customers  by  marriage,  understood  them  well,  sold  them  goods  of 
a  superior  quality,  and  gave  credit.  The  United  States  agents,  on  the 
other  hand,  were  often  unfitted  for  their  positions  and  unreliable,  were 
unable  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  Indians  and  sold  them  cheap  goods  at 
an  enormous  profit.  American  State  Papers,  Ind.  Affs.,  II,  66,  79,  204  ; 
Wis.  Hist.  Colls.,  VII,  270-288;  Abridgment  of  Debates,  VII,  180  ff; 
Benton,  Thirty  Years'  View,  I,  20-1 ;  Turner,  Indian  Trade  in  Wisconsin, 
60;  James,  English  Institutions  and  the  American  Indian,  39-42. 


20  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

During  these  years  the  Government  had  not  been  en- 
tirely unmindful  of  civilizing  the  Indians.  In  its  treaties 
with  the  various  tribes  it  had  used  its  influence  to  settle 
them  upon  restricted  lands  so  that,  no  longer  being  able 
to  subsist  by  the  chase,  they  might  be  forced  to  farm,  and 
it  had  made  provision  to  pay  for  the  ceded  lands  partly 
in  agricultural  implements.*  As  early  as  March  30, 
1802, f  Congress  had  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  Presi- 
dent to  expend  not  more  than  $15,000  per  annum  "  to 
promote  civilization  among  the  friendly  Indian  tribes." 
Later  the  educational  feature^  was  added,  and  during  the 
years  between  1818  and  1826  the  number  of  children  re- 
ceiving instruction  rose  from  fifty  to  twelve  hundred. § 

Such  were  the  main  features  of  the  early  Indian  policy, 
non-intervention,  friendship,  and  civilization.  Of  the 
fact  that  they  were  not  always  consistently  carried  out 
there  can  be  little  doubt.  But  the  honest  intentions 
of  the  United  States  can  hardly  be  questioned.  That  the 
Indians  sometimes  suffered  injustice  was  due  largely  to 
the  inability  of  the  Central  Government  always  to  control 
the  conduct  of  individuals  and  States.  The  separate 
action  of  Georgia,  as  opposed  to  the  Central  Government, 
gave  the  first  impulse  to  the  removal  policy. 

The  second  stage  of  the  national  policy  was  inaugur- 


*  See  treaties  in  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  VII.  A  synopsis  of  those 
made  between  1789  and  1814  is  given  in  American  State  Papers,  Ind. 
Affs.,  I,  Index,  Ixxii-lxxvi. 

t  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  II,  143. 

J  March  3,  1819,  Congress  appropriated  $10,000  per  annum  for  the 
payment  of  suitable  persons  to  instruct  the  Indians  in  agriculture  and  to 
teach  their  children  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic.  U.  S.  Statutes  at 
Large,  III,  516-17. 

§  American  State  Papers,  Ind.  Affs.,  II,  700. 


OUTLINE    OF    THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  21 

ated  by  President  Monroe  in  his  message  of  January  27, 
1825.*  Hitherto  the  course  of  the  Government,  as  we 
have  seen,  had  been  largely  determined  by  expediency. 
The  United  States  now  began  to  move  upon  a  definite 
system.  Already  in  1803,  the  year  in  which  Louisiana 
was  purchased  from  France,  the  thought  of  colonizing 
the  Indians  in  this  territory  had  occurred  to  the  far- 
seeing  Jefferson.  However,  it  had  been  vague  in  the  ex- 
treme and  was  associated  with  no  well-defined  system 
to  civilize  the  Indians,  but  was  simply  a  desire  to  increase 
their  hunting  privileges.  It  was  reserved  for  President 
Monroe  definitely  to  inaugurate  the  removal  policy.  Its 
main  points  according  to  the  message  of  January  27, 
1825,f  were  these  :  (1)  Removal  of  the  Indians  from  the 
States  and  Territories  east  of  the  Mississippi ;  (2)  con- 
veyance to  them  in  fee  simple  of  land  west  of  the  same 
river  ;  (3)  the  establishment  of  an  enlightened  system  of 
internal  government  such  as  should  gradually  unite  the 
tribes  ;  (4)  protection  from  the  encroachments  of  our  cit- 
izens. The  immediate  cause  which  influenced  President 
Monroe  to  deliver  this  message  was  Georgia's  insistence 
that  the  United  States  should  fulfill  its  promise  of  1802, 
and  extinguish  the  title  to  the  Cherokee  lands  in  her 
State. J  It  was  this  same  desire  for  more  land  on  the  part 
of  other  States  which  brought  about  the  removal  policy. 
This  fact,  however,  was  not  put  so  boldly  at  the  time. 
The  reasons  given  by  those  who  favored,  a  general  re- 
moval of  the  tribes  were  two-fold.  They  said  the  pros- 


*  Statesman's  Manual,  I,  536-38. 
t  18th  Cong.,  2nd  Sess. ,  No.  21. 

I  See  Von  Hoist,  Constitutional  History  of  the  United  States,  I, 
433  ff. 


22  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

perity  of  the  United  States  and  the  welfare  of  the  Indians 
depended  upon  it.  All  the  various  arguments  which  they 
brought  forward  to  support  their  position  were  afterwards 
tersely  put  by  President  Jackson  in  his  message  of  1830. 
He  said  : 

"  The  pecuniary  advantages  which  it  promises  to  the 
Government  are  the  least  of  its  recommendations.  It 
puts  an  end  to  all  possible  danger  of  collision  between 
the  authorities  of  the  general  and  State  Governments,  on 
account  of  the  Indians.  It  will  place  a  dense  and  civ- 
ilized population  in  large  tracts  of  country  now  occupied 
by  a  few  savage  hunters.  By  opening  the  whole  terri- 
tory between  Tennessee  on  the  north,  and  Louisiana  on 
the  south,  to  the  settlements  of  the  whites,  it  will  incal- 
culably strengthen  the  southwestern  frontier,  and  render 
the  adjacent  States  strong  enough  to  repel  future  in- 
vasion without  remote-  aid.  It  will  relieve  the  whole 
State  of  Mississippi,  and  the  western  part  of  Alabama,  of 
Indian  occupancy,  and  enable  those  States  to  advance 
rapidly  in  population,  wealth,  and  power.  It  will  sepa- 
rate the  Indians  from  immediate  contact  with  the  settle- 
ments of  the  whites  ;  free  them  from  the  power  of  the 
States  ;  enable  them  to  pursue  happiness  in  their  own 
way,  and  under  their  own  rude  institutions  ;  will  retard 
the  progress  of  decay  which  is  lessening  their  numbers  ; 
and  perhaps  cause  them  gradually,  under  the  protection 
of  the  Government,  and  through  the  influence  of  good 
counsels,  to  cast  off  their  savage  habits,  and  become  an 
interesting,  civilized,  and  Christian  community."* 

The  message  of  President  Monroe  resulted  in  no  im- 


*  Statesman's  Manual,  II,  745-6. 


OUTLINE    OF    THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  23 

mediate  legislation,  though  shortly  afterwards  the  Creek 
title  to  lands  in  Georgia  was  extinguished.  The  removal 
policy  was  not  formally  adopted  until  May  28,  1830, 
when  Congress  passed  an  act  whose  four  main  provisions 
were  as  follows  :  The  President  was  authorized  (1)  to 
cause  certain  lands  west  of  the  Mississippi  "  to  be  divided 
into  a  suitable  number  of  districts,  for  the  reception  of 
such  tribes  or  nations  of  Indians  as  may  choose  to 
exchange  the  lands  where  they  now  reside,  and  remove 
there  "  ;  (2)  "  to  exchange  any  or  all  of  such  districts  * 

*  *       with  any  tribe  or  nation  of  Indians  now  residing 
within  the  limits  of  any  of  the  States  or  Territories,     * 

*  *     for  the  whole  or  any  part     *     *     *     of  the  terri- 
tory claimed  or  occupied  by  such  tribe  or  nation  "  ;  (3) 
"  solemnly  to  assure  the  tribe  or  nation  with  which  the 
exchange  is  made  that  the   United  States  will  forever 
secure  and  guarantee  to  them,  and  their  heirs  or  suc- 
cessors, the  country  so  exchanged  with  them  "  ;  (4)  "  to 
cause  such  tribe  or  nation  to  be  protected,  at  their  new 
residence,  against  all  interruption  or  disturbance  from 
any  other  tribe  or  nation  of  Indians,  or  from  any  other 
person  or  persons  whatever."* 

The  foregoing  act  was  supplemented  by  the  Indian 
Intercourse  Act  of  June  30,  1834,f  whose  object  was  the 
regulation  of  trade  and  intercourse  with  the  Indian 
tribes  and  the  preservation  of  peace  on  the  frontier. 

*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  IV,  411-412.  There  were  three  other 
sections  authorizing  the  President  to  pay  for  improvements  on  ceded 
lands  ;  to  assist  in  the  removal  and  render  necessary  aid  in  support  for 
the  tirst  year  after  the  removal  ;  and  to  exercise  the  same  superinten- 
dence over  the  Indians  as  hitherto.  Still  a  fourth  section  appropriated 
1500,000  to  give  effect  to  the  act. 

t  Ibid.,  729-735. 


24  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

The  removal  policy,  as  a  policy,  was  then  complete.  It 
was  not  consummated  as  a  fact,  however,  until  1842,  by 
which  time  nearly  all  the  tribes,  with  the  exception  of 
some  unimportant  fragments,  had  ceded  their  lands  in 
the  States  and  Territories  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  re- 
moved or  agreed  to  remove  west  of  that  river.* 

There  was  this  difference  between  the  scheme  as 
planned  by  Jefferson  and  the  policy  as  adopted  by  Con- 
gress. Jefferson  made  provision  for  a  well-defined 
system  of  internal  government  and  looked  toward  the 
civilization  of  the  Indians  as  its  ultimate  goal ;  Congress 
left  the  tribal  government,  as  before,  supreme,  and  took 
no  definite  steps  toward  the  reclamation  of  the  Indians 
from  their  wandering  life.  A  wide  area  of  land  was 
given  them  and  each  individual  was  allowed  to  decide  for 
himself  whether  he  would  be  a  nomad  or  a  farmer,  a 
decision  which  was  likely  to  be  influenced  by  the  fact 
that  the  buffalo  range  was  not  far  off. 

The  dates  of  the  removal  policy  may  be  put  down  as 
1825-38.  There  were  removals  before  this  time,f  but 
they  were  determined  by  the  exigencies  of  circumstances 
and  made  upon  no  fixed  principle.  There  were  removals 
after  this  time,  but  they  were  merely  the  carrying  out  of 
a  principle  whose  spirit  was  dead,  as  those,  for  instance, 
between  1838  and  1850,  or  they  were  made  necessary  by 
the  pressure  of  a  white  population  upon  the  Indian 
country,  as  those  of  later  years. 

As  a  Government  measure  for  the  increase  of  State 
territory,  the  removal  policy  was  a  success  :  as  a  measure 


*  See  the  various  treaties  of  session  with  the  Indian  tribes.    U. 
Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  Index. 

t  See  Hildreth,  History  of  the  United  States,  VI,  677-8. 


OUTLINE    OF    THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  25 

for  the  promotion  of  the  welfare  of  the  Indians,  it  was  a 
failure.  The  latter  fact  may  be  most  easily  seen  in  a 
study  of  the  condition  of  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees 
before  and  after  their  removal.  They  lost  faith  in  civil- 
ization, and  it  was  only  after  long  years  of  hardship  and 
suffering  that  they  once  more  reached  the  plane  which 
they  had  occupied  in  their  former  homes. 

During  the  years  between  1845  and  1855  events  oc- 
curred which  were  to  give  the  death-blow  to  the  removal 
policy.  In  1845  Texas*  was  admitted  to  the  Union,, 
and  September  9,  1850,  sold  to  the  United  States  a 
portion  of  her  territory  now  included  in  Kansas,. 
Colorado,  New  Mexico,  and  the  "  public  land  strip. "f 
In  1846  the  long  disputed  Oregon  question  was- 
settled,  and  the  United  States  gained  a  perfect  title 
to  a  large  tract  of  land  south  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel 
of  north  latitude  and  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  J  In 
1848,  by  the  treaty  of  Guadaloupe  Hidalgo,  Mexico 
ceded  to  the  United  States  lands  now  California,  Nevada, 
Utah,  and  a  part  of  Colorado,  Arizona,  and  New  Mexico. § 
In  1853  the  so-called  Gadsden  Purchase  was  made,  and 
the  United  States  came  into  possession  of  a  strip  of  land 
containing  forty-five  thousand  five  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  square  miles,  and  now  forming  the  southern  part 
of  the  Territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona.  || 

This  immense  increase  of    the  public   domain  had  a 


*  Donaldson,  Public  Domain,  12. 
t  Ibid. 

I  Ibid.,  7. 

%  Ibid,,  12. 

II  Ibid. 


"26  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

direct  bearing  upon  the  Indian  policy.  Hitherto  the 
tribes  had  been  kept  upon  our  frontiers  and  pushed  west- 
ward by  the  advancing  tide  of  civilization.  The 
removal  policy  had  contemplated  the  settlement  of  the 
Indians  upon  lands  where  they  should  be  free  from  con- 
tact with  the  whites.  But  the  acquisition  of  new  terri- 
tory and  the  discovery  of  gold  in  1848  so  stimulated 
immigration  that  the  frontier  line  was  broken.  Whites 
poured  into  the  Indian  country,  and  with  such  disastrous 
consequences  to  the  natives  that  it  seemed  necessary  to  take 
immediate  steps  to  save  the  border  tribes  from  extinction. 
It  was  thought  that  this  could  be  done  by  a  partial  change 
in  the  relative  positions  of  the  various  tribes,  which  would 
make  it  possible  to  throw  open  a  wide  extent  of  country 
for  the  free  spread  of  the  white  population  westward. 
It  was  for  this  purpose  that  the  treaty  of  1851  was  made 
with  the  Sioux  of  the  Mississippi. 

Again,  with  this  increase  of  our  territory  came  a  pro- 
portionate increase  in  the  magnitude  of  the  Indian  ques- 
tion. We  had  now  a  far  greater  number  of  tribes  to  deal 
with  than  hitherto.  Some  mechanism  of  control  was 
imperatively  necessary,  and  the  reservation  system  was, 
In  part,  devised  to  meet  this  need.  The  plan  at  first  was 
simply  this  :  to  locate  the  Indians  as  rapidly  as  possible 
upon  reservations  whose  extent  should  be  proportionate 
to  their  needs.  If  they  could  be  induced  to  apply  them- 
selves to  agriculture,  the  reservation  might  be  small  ;  if 
they  must  be  allowed  to  hunt,  it  might  be  large.  In 
either  case  the  Indians  were  to  be  brought  into  relation- 
ship with  the  United  States  through  their  agents. 

Throughout  the  fifties  emigration  westward  continued, 


OUTLINE    OF    THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  27 

stimulated  still  further  by  the  political  troubles  in  Kan- 
sas. During  these  same  years  the  national  policy,  per- 
force, assumed  more  definite  form.  With. the  wild  Indians 
of  the  plains  little,  as  yet,  could  be  done,  except  to  use 
every  opportunity  to  settle  them  upon  reservations.  But 
the  growing  scarcity  of  game  pointed  to  a  solution.  These 
tribes  would  soon  be  dependent  upon  the  Government 
for  food  and  could  then  be  more  easily  held  in 
check. 

With  those  tribes  who  had  by  this  time  become  some- 
what used  to  an  agricultural  life,  the  policy  was  more 
definite.  Two  evils  had  marked  our  past  treatment  of 
them  :  the  assignment  of  an  unnecessarily  large  extent 
of  land  to  be  held  in  common,  and  the  payment  of  large 
money  annuities.  An  attempt  was  now  made  to  remedy 
these  evils.  The  three  essential  features  of  the  plan  were 
these  :  first,  the  location  of  the  different  tribes  upon  res- 
ervations only  sufficiently  large  to  satisfy  their  needs  ; 
second,  the  allotment  of  this  land  in  severalty  to  the 
Indians,  requiring  them  to  live  upon  and  cultivate  their 
individual  allotments  ;  third,  the  payment  of  annuities 
in  the  form  of  stock,  agricultural  implements,  mechanics' 
tools,  and  manual-labor  schools.*  This  policy  was  first 
adopted  with  the  Mississippi  Sioux  in  1858. f 

The  Indians  of  California  were  treajbed  differently  from 
all  others.  Neither  Spain  nor  Mexico  had  ever  acknowl- 
edged the  usufructuary  right  of  the  aborigines  to  the  land 
upon  which  they  lived  ;  and  it  was  held  that  when  Mex- 
ico ceded  this  territory  to  the  United  States  it  had  given 


*  This  policy  did  not  receive  broad  application  during  these  years. 
t  See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XII,  1037-41. 


28  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

the  Government  an  absolute  title.*  The  United  States, 
therefore,  made  no  treaties  with  the  Indians  for  the  ces- 
sion of  lands,  but  settled  them  upon  reservations  estab- 
lished by  executive  order,  which  were  to  be  run  upon  the 
old  mission  plan.f  The  priests  had  gathered  the  Indians 
upon  tracts  of  land  sufficiently  large  to  yield  them  sub- 
sistence and  had  compelled  them  to  cultivate  the  same. 
The  missions  were  thus  self-supporting  and  often  more 
than  that.  The  place  of  the  priest  was  now  to  be  taken 
by  the  agent,  and  the  Indians  were  to  be  fed,  clothed,  and 
civilized,  without  expense  to  the  Government.  But  the 
plan  refused  to  work,  and  the  California  reservations 
were  a  miserable  failure. J 

The  decade  between  1860  and  1870  was  fruitful  of  dis- 
cord. There  were  Indian  uprisings  in  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  some  of  them  were  long  and  terrible.  Never 
before  had  the  United  States  had  so  many  men  at  one  time 
in  the  field  against  the  hostiles,  never  had  it  fought  more 
bloody  battles  with  them.  It  would,  of  course,  be  difficult, 
if  not  impossible,  to  trace  out  all  the  specific  causes  of  these 
wars.  That  they  were  in  part  due  to  Indian  "  bad  blood" 


*  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1861-62 ;  Sen.  Docs., 
37th  Cong.,  2nd  Sess.,  Vol.  I,  637. 

t  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Government  had  not  sufficiently  investi- 
gated the  mission  plan.  It  seems  to  have  recognized  only  its  excellen- 
cies and  to  have  been  totally  ignorant  of  its  inherent  evils.  Moreover  it 
did  not  take  into  consideration  the  fact  that  the  priest  labored  for 
himself,  the  agent  for  the  Government,  and  that  there  might  well  be  a 
difference  in  the  zeal  displayed  by  the  two. 

J  For  a  brief  sketch  of  the  California  reservation  system,  see  Report 
of  G.  Bailey,  Special  Agent  Interior  Department,  to  Hon.  Charles  C.  Mix, 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs:  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  for  1858-9,  pp.  649-657. 


OUTLINE    OF    THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  29 

there  can  be  no  doubt  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  this  "  bad 
blood"  had  been  roused  by  the  failure  of  the  United 
States  to  keep  its  treaty  obligations,  and  by  the  depreda- 
tions of  the  whites,  whose  steady  stream  of  immigration 
became  visibly  broader  at  the  close  of  the  civil  war. 
Finally,  June  20, 1867,  Congress  appointed  a  Commission* 
of  seven  members  and  authorized  it  to  make  treaties 
with  the  hostile  tribes.  The  end  in  view  was  three-fold  : 
first,  the  removal  of  the  causes  of  war  ;  second,  the  secur- 
ity of  our  frontiers  and  the  safe  building  of  our  western 
railroads  ;  third,  the  inauguration  of  some  plan  for  the 
civilization  of  the  Indians. 

The  Commission  was  also  required  to  select  a  district 
or  districts  of  country  sufficiently  large  to  accommodate 
all  the  Indian  tribes  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and 
not  settled  on  reservations.  These  districts  were  to  be 
made  the  permanent  homes  of  such  tribes. 

The  report  of  this  Commission  is  interesting  as  a  strong 
presentation  of  the  Indian  side  of  the  question.  It  held 
that  the  causes  of  the  wars  of  this  decade  lay  wholly  at 
the  door  of  the  Government,  which  had  failed  to  keep  its 
treaty  stipulations  and  to  protect  the  Indians  from  immi- 
grants. The  Indians  had  thus  been  obliged  to  take  up 
arms  in  self-defense.  The  Commission  made  new  treat- 
ies whose  keeping,  it  said,  would  insure  peace  and  the 
security  of  the  frontiers  and  western  railroads.  The 

*  See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  17-18.  This  Commission  was 
"  to  consist  of  three  officers  of  the  army  not  below  the  rank  of  Brigadier 
General,  *  *  together  with  N.  G.  Taylor,  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs,  John  B.  Henderson,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Indian 
Affairs  of  the  Senate,  S.  S.  Tappan,  and  John  B.  Sanborn."  The  officers 
chosen  from  the  army  were  Generals  W.  T.  Sherman,  W.  S.  Harney,  and 
Alfred  II.  Terry. 


30  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

terms  of  these  treaties  varied  with  the  different  tribes, 
but,  as  a  whole,  were  in  harmony  with  the  governmental 
policy.  They  provided,  in  most  cases,  for  the  cession  of 
Indian  lands,  the  settlement  of  the  Indians  upon  reser- 
vations, though  with  a  privilege  to  hunt  elsewhere,  and 
the  payment  of  annuities  in  goods.* 

Finally,  the  Commission  urged  that  all  tribes  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  should  be  concentrated  upon  two 
large  reservations,  and  should  be  provided  with  a  terri- 
torial government.  The  wilder  tribes  should  be  allowed 
the  privileges  of  the  chase  for  the  present,  the  others 
should  cultivate  the  soil ;  and  all  should  have  annuities 
paid  to  them  in  the  form  of  goods,  only  such  a  portion 
of  these  to  be  food  as  was  absolutely  necessary. f 

The  tone  of  this  report  was  in  strong  contrast  to  the 
conduct  of  the  War  Department,}  under  whose  control 
the  Indians  had  in  large  measure  fallen.  The  action  of 
army  officers  was  in  certain  specific  cases  deprecated  ; 
but  the  chief  blame  of  our  Indian  troubles  was  laid  at 
the  door  of  our  legislation,  as  being  responsible  for  our 
wavering,  inconsistent,  and  unjust  Indian  policy.  The 


*  The  treaty  of  1868  with  the  Sioux  is  a  good  example.  A  synopsis 
of  it  is  to  be  found  in  Chapter  IV  of  this  paper.  For  the  treaties  with 
the  Kiowas  and  Coraanches,  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes,  and  Shoshonees 
and  Bannocks,  see  U.  8.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  pp.  581,  655,  and  673, 
respectively. 

t  Report  to  the  President  by  the  Indian  Peace  Commission,  Janu- 
ary 7,  1868  :  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  41st  Cong.,  2d 
Bess.,  487  ff. 

t  Three  members  of  the  Commission  were  officers  of  the  army,  but  a 
careful  perusal  of  the  report  will  serve  to  show  that  they  had  little  to  do 
with  drawing  it  up.  There  is  too  great  a  gap  between  the  sentiments  of 
the  report  and  the  conduct  of  these  gentlemen  on  the  field  of  war. 


OUTLINE    OF   THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  31 

recommendations  of  the  Committee  were  such  as  seemed 
to  it  most  likely  to  insure  peace. 

But  peace  did  not  follow.  The  condition  of  the  Indians 
was  at  this  time  peculiarly'  critical,  owing  to  the  gradual 
extinction  of  the  buffalo  and  the  steady  increase  of 
western  immigration.  Many  of  the  bands  were  depend- 
ing upon  the  annuities  due  them  by  the  recently  made 
treaties  to  keep  them  from  starvation.  But  there  was 
delay  in  the  Senate.  The  treaties  made  in  the  fall  of 
1867  were  not  ratified  until  after  midsummer  in  1868. 
The  appropriations  to  carry  these  treaties  into  effect 
were  consequently  delayed.  This  the  Indians  could  not 
understand.  Moreover,  many* of  them  were  in  desperate 
need  of  food.  In  the  case  of  some  tribes  there  were 
other  special  grievances.  Depredations  followed,  notably 
among  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes,  the  rumors  of 
which  were  grossly  exaggerated.  These  depredations 
were  regarded  by  the  United  States  as  a  violation  of  the- 
treaties  not  yet  ratified,  and  preparations  were  made  to 
punish  the  Indians.  Thus  another  war  was  precipitated.* 


*  "  My  opinion  is,  in  regard  to  the  present  Indian  war,  that  the 
same  could  have  been  prevented,  had  the  Government  continued  to 
keep  up  the  supply  of  subsistence  that  had  been  furnished  to  them  dur- 
ing the  spring  and  early  summer.  They  had  gradually  got  weaned  from 
their  old  habits  to  that  extent  that  they  depended  upon  the  provisions 
which  I  issued  to  them,  and  consequently  it  was  not  necessary  for  them 
to  scatter  out  in  little  bands  all  over  the  country  for  the  purpose  of  find- 
ing game,  thereby  running  risks  of  coming  in  contact  with  white  men, 
and  also  being  subjected  to  temptations  when  hungry  ;  but  soon  after 
the  supplies  were  stopped.  Had  I  been  allowed  to  issue  the  arms  and 
ammunition  to  them  at  the  time  promised,  they  would  have  been  con- 
tented, from  the  fact  of  their  having  the  means  to  procure  game.  But 
the  failure  of  the  Government  to  fulfill  its  promises  in  the  latter  respect 
naturally  incensed  some  of  the  wilder  spirits  among  them,  and  conse- 


32  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

* 

Meanwhile,  October  9,  1868,  the  Indian  Peace  Com- 
mission had  met  at  Chicago  and  drawn  up  a  set  of  seven 
resolutions,*  repudiating  much  of  their  former  work  and 
placing  them  in  harmony  with  the  War  Department. 
They  then  adjourned  sine  die,  because,  according  to  Colo- 
nel F.  S.  Tappan,  "  of  their  inability,  for  the  want  of 
means,  to  do  what  had  been  promised  the  five  thousand 
or  six  thousand  Indians  now  on  the  warpath. "f 

But  a  change  was  at  hand,  a  change  associated  with 
the  name  of  President  Grant  and  known  as  the  Peace 
Policy.  It  was  officially  inaugurated  by  the  Indian 
Appropriation  Act  of  April  10,  1869.J  Section  IV  of 

quently  the  outrages  committed  on  the  Saline.  *  *  *  The  Kiowa  and 
Comanche  Indians  up  to  the  present  time  have  been  at  peace,  but  I  have  no 
doubt  they  will  soon  join  the  Cheyennes,  and  thus  create  a  general  In- 
dian war.  My  reasons  for  believing  that  the  Comanches  and  Kiowas 
will,  this  late  in  the  season,  engage  in  this  struggle,  are  that  I  do  not  see 
how  they  can  possibly  do  otherwise,  in  consequence  of  their  having 
been  instructed  some  months  since  to  assemble  on  the  Arkansas  for  the 
purpose  of  waiting  to  receive  their  agent  and  receive  their  annuities. 
They  have  been  waiting  for  months  in  a  state  of  destitution,  and  no 
agent  or  goods  had  made  their  appearance  up  to  the  latter  part  of  last 
month  ;  they  are  then  told,  without  seeing  their  agent  or  receiving  their 
goods,  to  leave  and  go  south  immediately,  to  travel  right  through  the 
country  where  are  troops  in  pursuit  of  hostile  Indians,  and  with  whom 
it  would  be  impossible  to  tell  a  Kiowa  from  a  Cheyenne.  The  conse- 
quence will  be  that  all  the  tribes  of  the  upper  Arkansas  will  before  long 
be  engaged  in  hostilities."  Letter  from  E.  W.  Wynkoop,  United  States 
Indian  Agent,  to  Colonel  F.  S.  Tappan  :  Message  and  Documents,  1868-9, 
Abridgment,  1016. 

*  See  Report  of  the  Indian  Peace  Commission  to  the  President  of 
the  United  States  :  Messages  and  Documents,  1868-9  ;  Abridgment, 
1011. 

t  Letter  from  Colonel  F.  S.  Tappan,  Indian  Peace  Commissioner,  to 
Hon.-N.  G.  Taylor,  President  of  the  Indian  Peace  Commission  :  Ibid., 
1016. 

.$  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XVI,  40. 


OUTLINE    OF   THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  33 

this  act  provided,  "  that  there  be  appropriated  *  *  * 
the  sum  of  two  millions  of  dollars,  or  so  much  thereof  as 
may  be  necessary,  to  enable  the  President  to  maintain 
the  peace  among  and  with  the  various  tribes,  bands,  and 
parties  of  Indians,  and  to  promote  civilization  among 
said  Indians,  bring  them,  where  practicable,  upon  reser- 
vations, relieve  their  necessities,  and  encourage  their 
efforts  at  self-support."  This  same  act  made  provision 
for  the  first  feature  of  the  peace  policy.  It  authorized 
the  President  to  organize  a  board  of  not  more  than  ten 
commissioners,  "  to  be  selected  by  him  from  men  emi- 
nent for  their  intelligence  and  philanthropy/'  and  "  to 
serve  without  pecuniary  compensation/'  whose  duty*  it 
should  be  "  to  exercise  joint  control  with  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior  over  the  disbursement  of  the  above  appro- 
priation." Furthermore,  $25,000  were  appropriated  "  to 
pay  the  necessary  expenses  of  transportation,  subsistence 
and  clerk  hire  of  said  commissioners  while  actually  en- 
gaged in  said  service."! 

The  second  featurej  of  the  peace  policy,  and  that  most 
characteristic  of  it,  was  the  bringing  of  the  various  reli- 
gious denominations  of  the  country  into  active  co-opera- 
tion with  the  Government,  by  giving  them  the  nomination 
of  Indian  agents.  The  appointments  were  to  be  made 
by  the  President  and  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  The 
societies  were  to  be  held  morally  responsible  for  the 
conduct  of  the  appointees.  At  this  time  all  superinten- 


*  For  a  more  careful  definition  of  the  duties  of  this  board,  see  Second 
Annual  Report,  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners,  1870,  p.  100,  Appendix 
27. 

\IUd.,  Preface. 

t  Ibid.,  4-5. 


34  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

dents  of  Indian  affairs  and  all  Indian  agents,  with  the 
exception  of  those  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  were  officers 
of  the  army,  most  of  whom  had  been  detailed  for  duty  at 
the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  in  order  to  retrench  expenses 
and  economize  the  public  service. 

Section  XVIII  of  the  Army  Appropriation  Act  of  July 
15,  1870,*  made  it  unlawful  for  any  officer  of  the  army 
of  the  United  States,  on  the  active  list,  to  hold  a  civil 
office,  either  by  election  or  appointment.  On  that  day, 
therefore,  many  Indian  functionaries  were  relieved  from 
duty  ;  and  it  was  proposed  to  fill  their  places  with  per- 
sons nominated  by  the  various  religious  societies.  This 
principle  was  adopted  to  promote  harmony  between  the 
agents  and  missionaries  and  to  purify  the  Indian  service, 
"  by  taking  the  nomination  to  the  office  of  agent  out  of  the 
domain  of  politics  and  placing  it  where  no  motives  but 
those  of  disinterested  benevolence  could  be  presumed  to 
prevail.  "\ 

The  third  feature  of  the  peace  policy  was  the  feeding 
system,  which  provided  for  gathering  the  wilder  tribes  of 
Indians  upon  reservations  and  supporting  them  until 
taught  to  earn  their  own  livelihood.  The  Government  felt 
that  it  was  a  question  of  either  locating  and  feeding  the 
Indians  or  of  fighting  them.  It  chose  the  former  course, 
because  this  involved  a  less  expenditure  of  money,  "  re- 


*  IT.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XVI,  319. 

+  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1872,  p.  73.  For 
the  year  preceding  the  passage  of  the  act  of  July  15,  1870,  the  Indian 
superintendents  and  agents  in  Kansas  and  Nebraska  had  been  appointed 
by  the  President  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  two  Societies  of 
Friends.  The  admirable  working  of  this  system  led  to  its  extension  as 
above  indicated. 


OUTLINE    OF    THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  35 

duced  to  the  minimum  the  loss  of  life  and  property  upon 
our  frontiers,"  and  allowed  "  the  freest  development  of 
our  settlements  and  railways  possible  under  the  circum- 
stances."* 

The  feeding  system  was  two-fold.  On  the  one  hand  it 
involved  placing  the  Indians  upon  limited  tracts  of  land  ; 
on  the  other,  keeping  them  quiet  by  supporting  them. 
Neither  of  these  ideas  was  absolutely  new.  The  reserva- 
tion system  had  existed  in  theory  as  far  back  as  1800, 
and  had  been  known  under  various  forms  and  names 
since  then.  The  removal  policy  and  the  colonization 
plan  were  simply  modifications  of  it.  But,  as  a  feature 
of  the  feeding  system,  it  was  of  greater  magnitude  and 
had  two  definite  ends  in  view.  It  aimed  to  give  the 
Government  some  machinery  of  control  over  the  Indians, 
and  to  throw  open  a  wide  extent  of  country  to  the  whites. 
The  policy  of  subsisting  the  Indians  was  adopted  as  the 
cheapest  and  easiest  way  of  buying  off  their  hostility. 
It,  too,  found  a  prototype  as  far  back  as  1800.  On  May 
13  of  that  year  an  actf  was  passed  authorizing  the  Presi- 
dent to  issue  such  rations  as  he  should  judge  proper,  and 
as  could  be  easily  spared  from  the  army  provisions,  to 
Indians  visiting  the  military  posts  or  living  in  their  res- 
ervations. Since  then  the  friendship  of  the  Indians  had 
been  repeatedly  purchased  by  the  distribution  of  gifts. 
But  in  1870  the  plan  of  subsisting  the  wilder  tribes  in 
order  to  keep  the  peace  became  a  definite  feature  of  the 
Indian  policy. 


*  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1872,  p.  4.      This 
report  contains  a  most  excellent  presentation  of  the  peace  policy. 

t  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  II,  85. 


36  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

The  feeding  system  above  outlined,  and  especially  the 
reservation  system,  was,  of  course,  a  practical  recognition 
of  the  dependence  of  the  Indian  tribes  upon  the  United 
States  Government.  In  theory,  however,  these  tribes 
remained  sovereign  powers  until  denationalized  by  the 
act  of  March  3, 1871.*  This  provided  that  no  tribe  with- 
in the  territory  of  the  United  States  should  be  recognized 
;as  an  independent  nation  with  which  the  United  States 
-might  treat.f 

At  first  thought  the  passage  of  this  act  might  seem  to 
indicate  a  complete  change  in  the  national  policy.  In 
the  hundreds  of  treaties  which  the  Government  had  pre- 
viously made  with  the  Indians,  they  had  been  recognized 
•as  independent  nations.  Their  tribal  institutions  had 
been  left  untouched,  and  they  had  been  allowed  to  gov- 
ern themselves  as  they  chose.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  how- 
ever, they  had  never  been  treated  like  sovereign  powers. 
In  the  making  of  these  very  treaties  the  United  States 
had  used  moral  coercion,  and  frequently  other  and  more 
effective  means,  to  induce  the  tribes  to  yield  to  its  terms. 
The  relation  of  the  Indian  to  the  Government  was  in 
reality  that  of  a  ward  under  the  care  of  a  guardian.  The 
power  of  the  Indian  agent  had  grown  as  the  strength  of 
the  United  States  had  increased  and  that  of  the  Indians 
had  decreased  ;  it  had  finally  become  practically  absolute. J 


*  Revised  Statutes  of  the  United  States,  Sect.  2079. 

t  This  act  further  provided  that  "  no  obligation  of  any  treaty  law- 
fully made  and  ratified  with  any  such  Indian  nation  or  tribe  prior  to 
March  third,  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy-one,"  should  be  "invalidated 
or  impaired."  Revised  Statutes  of  the  U.  S.,  Sect.  2079. 

J  Evolution  of  the  Indian  agent :  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  for  1892,  pp.  12-25. 


OUTLINE    OF   THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  37 

The  theory  of  Indian  nationality  was  therefore  a  theory 
only,*  and  the  act  of  March  3,  1871,  was  simply  an  out- 
ward recognition  of  an  internal  change  which  had  already 
taken  place. 

The  Feeding  System  was  the  term  used  to  designate 
the  policy  of  the  United  States  toward  the  wilder  tribes. 
Toward  those  more  civilized  it  adopted  a  different  atti- 
tude. These  were  to  be  taught  to  earn  their  own  liveli- 
hood. They  were  to  be  transformed  into  farmers  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  were  to  receive  land  in  severalty,  and 
were  to  b^  furnished  with  agricultural  implements.  The 
Government  proposed  to  spend  as  little  money  upon 
them  as  it  could  and  still  advance  them  in  the  arts  of 
civilization. 

The  policy  of  the  United  States,  in  a  nutshell,  was 
this  :  The  expenditures  were  to  "  be  proportioned  not 
to  the  good  but  to  the  ill  deserts  of  the  tribe  ; "  hostile 
and  potentially  hostile  tribes  were  to  be  supported  in 
indolence  in  order  to  keep  them  quiet ;  well-disposed 
tribes  were  to  be  "  only  assisted  to  self-maintenance/'f 
since  from  them  there  was  nothing  to  fear.J  The  ulti- 
mate object,  however,  with  both  was  civilization. 

The  peace  policy  served  its  purpose  well.  It  brought 
the  Government  into  vital  contact  with  nearly  all  the 
tribes  living  within  the  boundaries  of  the  United  States, 
and  it  furnished  a  system  by  which  these  tribes  were,  in 
a  certain  measure,  controlled.  The  course  of  events  dur- 
ing the  decade  between  1870  and  1880  served  materially 

*  For  the  real  status  of  the  Indians,  see  Peters,  V,  1. 
t  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1872,  p.  4. 
$  Cf.  appropriations  for  the  wilder  with  those  for  the  more  civilized 
tribes.     See  Index  of  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large. 


38  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

to  aid  the  designs  of  the  Government.  The  object  of  the 
feeding  system  was  to  buy  off  the  hostility  of  the  Indians 
by  supporting  them.  The  success  of  this  system  de- 
pended, of  course,  upon  the  Indians'  need  of  support. 
Hence  scarcity  of  game  must  further  the  national  pol- 
icy. That  this  scarcity  was  every  year  becoming  greater 
may  be  seen  from  the  following  quotation.  Speaking  of 
the  buffalo,  Colonel  Dodge  says  : 

"  Their  most  prized  feeding  ground  was  the  section  of 
country  between  the  South  Platte  and  Arkansas  Rivers, 
watered  by  the  Republican,  Smoky,  Walnut,  Pawnee,  and 
other  parallel  and  tributary  streams,  and  generally 
known  as  the  Republican  country.  Hundreds  of  thou- 
sands went  south  from  here  each  winter  but  hundreds  of 
thousands  remained.  It  was  the  chosen  home  of  the 
buffalo.  • 

"In  1872  some  enemy  of  the  buffalo  race  discovered 
that  their  hides  were  merchantable,  and  could  be  sold  in 
market  for  a  goodly  sum.  The  Union  Pacific,  Kansas 
Pacific,  and  Atchison,  Topeka,  and  Santa  Fe  railroads 
soon  swarmed  with  '  hard  cases '  from  the  East,  each 
excited  with  the  prospect  of  having  a  buffalo  hunt  that 
would  pay.  By  wagon,  on  horseback,  and  a-foot,  the  pot 
hunters  poured  in,  and  soon  the  unfortunate  buffalo  was 
without  a  moment's  peace  or  rest.  Though  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  skins  were  sent  to  market,  they  scarcely 
indicated  the  slaughter.  From  want  of  skill  in  shooting, 
and  want  of  knowledge  in  preserving  the  hides  of  those 
slain,  on  the  part  of  these  green  hunters,  one  hide  sent 
to  market  represented  three,  four,  or  even  five  dead 
buffalo. 


OUTLINE    OF   THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  39 

"  *  *  *  In  the  fall  of  1873  I  went  over  the  same 
ground.  Where  there  were  myriads  of  buffalo  the  year  be- 
fore, there  were  now  myriads  of  carcasses.  The  air  was 
foul  with  sickening  stench,  and  the  vast  plain,  which  only 
a  short  twelvemonth  before  teemed  with  animal  life,  was 
now  a  dead,  solitary,  putrid  desert."* 

However  unjust  to  the  Indians  this  wholesale  slaughter 
of  buffalo  may  have  been,  there  can  be  110  doubt  that  it 
fell  in  admirably  with  the  peace  policy. f  The  Indians 
who  were  dependent  upon  the  chase  for  a  livelihood 
were  forced  to  turn  to  the  Government  for  help,  and 
were  obliged  to  accede  to  its  demands.  A  machinery  of 
control  was  thus  established  over  them. 

The  incidental  results  of  the  peace  policy  were  perhaps 
quite  as  important  as  those  directly  aimed  at.  The  work 
of  the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners  and  the  missionary 
societies  co-operating  with  the  Government  acted  like 
leaven  upon  the  people  of  the  country.  Hitherto  it  had 
been  almost  impossible  to  interest  the  general  public  in 
the  Indian  question.  In  a  country  where  legislation 
bears  so  close  a  relation  to.  the  popular  demand,  this  was 
especially  unfortunate.  But  beginning  with  the  early 
seventies  public  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  red  race 
rapidly  increased.  Societies  sprang  up  with  the  avowed 
purpose  of  agitating  the  Indian  question  and  influencing 
the  legislation  of  Congress.  The  decade  from  1873  to 
1883  witnessed  the  birth  of  the  Boston  Citizenship  Com- 
mittee, the  Woman's  National  Indian  Association,  the 


*  Dodge,  Plains  of  the  Great  West,  131-3. 

t  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that  this  same  slaughter  of  buf- 
falo often  sent  the  Indians  upon  the  warpath. 


40  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

Indian  Rights  Association,  and  the  Lake  Mohonk  Con- 
ference. Propagandic  literature*  was  spread  throughout 
the  country  and  the  seed  sown  whose  fruit  was  the 
reform  movement  of  the  next  decade. 

Even  on  its  weakest  side,  that  of  civilization,  the  peace 
policy  was  not  an  utter  failure.  The  Indians,  seated 
upon  reservations  and  started  upon  an  agricultural  life, 
advanced  ;f  their  progress  was  neither  steady  nor  rapid, 
but  was  sufficient  to  encourage  the  friends  of  the  Indians 
to  look  forward  to  ultimate  citizenship  for  them.  It  was 
these  friends,  as  yet  largely  represented  by  the  societies 
above  named,  who  began  the  agitation  for  "  land,  law, 
and  education." 

The  agitation  which  brought  about  the  reform  move- 
ment arose,  as  before  noted,  in  the  seventies.  It  would 
be  a  difficult  matter  to  separate  the  agitation  from  the 
movement  proper,  but  the  latter  m&y  be  said  to  have 
begun  about  1882.  Its  central  principle  was  citizenship 
for  the  Indians,  with  all  its  attendant  duties  and  privi- 
leges. These  will  be  dwelt  upon  in  treating  the  different 
phases  of  the  movement. 

The  land  question  was  primarily  a  question  of  allot- 
ment of  lands  in  severalty  and  the  granting  of  patents 
in  fee  simple.  So  long  as  the  Indians  should  hold  their 
land  in  common  they  must  lack  that  incentive  to  work 
which  comes  from  individual  gain,  and  that  education 
which  accompanies  individual  responsibility.  For  many 
years  community  of  property  had  been  a  hindrance  to 


*  Much  of  this  related  to  specific  wrongs  which  the  societies  were 
endeavoring  to  right. 

t  See  civilization  statistics  and  the  reports  of  the  agents  and  farming 
superintendents :  Keports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs. 


OUTLINE    OF    THE    INDIAN    POLICY. 


41 


the  civilization  of  the  tribes.  The  friends  of  the  Indians 
now  urged  that  this  hindrance  be  done  away  with  by 
allotment  in  severalty. 

As  far  back  as  1839*  an  actf  had  been  passed  which 
provided  for  individual  allotments  to  the  Brothertown 
Indians  of  Wisconsin.  Subsequently,  by  law  or  treaty, 
allotment  was  extended  to  other  tribes  and  bands, J  pro- 
vision being  made  in  some  cases  to  confer  the  rights  of 
citizenship  upon  the  allottees  when  they  should  have  ful- 
filled certain  conditions.  But  these  acts  were  sporadic. 
The  principle  involved  in  them  did  not  become  a  feature 
of  the  governmental  policy  until  about  1858,  and  even 
then  did  not  receive  broad  application. 

A  step  forward  was  taken  by  the  act  of  March  3, 1875, § 
which  extended  the  benefits  of  the  Homestead  Act  of  1862J 
to  Indians,  and  provided  further  that  any  homestead 
taken  by  an  Indian  should  not  be  subject  "to  alienation 
or  incumbrance  #  *  *  for  a  period  of  five  years 
from  the  date  of  the  patent  issued  therefor. "T  It  also 
provided  that  any  Indian  taking  a  homestead  should  not 
forfeit  his  right  to  tribal  property.  The  defects  of  this 
act  were  that  it  did  not  provide  for  taking  claims  upon 


*  March  3. 

t  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  V,  349-51. 

+  "  Notably  the  Ottawas  and  Chippewas,  the  Pottawatomies,  the 
Shawnees  and  the  Wyandottes."  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  for  1891, 1,  40.  The  Commissioner  goes  on  to  say  that  in  most 
cases  the  Indians  sold  their  lands  as  soon  as  possible  and  squandered 
what  little  they  received. 

§  Supplement  to  the  Revised  Statutes  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  78. 

II  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XII,  392-394. 

IT  Supplement  to  the  Revised  Statutes,  I,  78. 


42  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

reservations,  and  that  it  made  the  time  of  inalienability 
too  short.  In  1884  one  thousand  dollars  was  appropri- 
ated* to  pay  the  fees  incident  to  making  the  land  entries, 
and  subsequently  other  appropriations  were  made  for  the 
same  purpose.  The  benefits  of  the  act  were' thus  ex- 
tended. 

This  brief  outline  of  legislation  will  serve  to  show  that 
in  the  case  of  individual  tribes  and  Indians  the  Govern- 
ment had  allotted  lands  in  severalty,  and,  in  some  cases, 
had  issued  --patents  in  fee  simple.  The  friends  of  the 
Indians  now  demanded  that  the  principle  involved  in 
these  measures  be  made  of  general  application,  and  it 
was  in  response  to  this  call  that  the  Dawes  Land  in  Sev- 
eralty Bill  was  laid  before  Congress.  The  following  is 
an  abstract  of  the  same  as  given  in  the  report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1887  :  f 

"  The  President  may,  in  his  discretion,  have  any  In- 
dian reservation  or  any  part  thereof  surveyed  or  re-sur- 
veyed, and  the  lands  of  such  reservation  allotted  in 
severalty  to  any  Indian  located  thereon. 

"The  size  of  the  allotments  shall  be  :  To  each  head  of 
a  family,  one-quarter  of  a  section  ;  to  each  single  person 
over  eighteen  and  each  orphan  under  eighteen  years  of 
age,  one-eighth  of  a  section  ;  to  each  other  single  person 
born  prior  to  the  date  of  the  Presidential  order  directing 
an  allotment  of  lands  upon  the  reserve,  one-sixteenth  of 
a  section. 

"  If  the  reserve  is  too  small  to  allow  the  giving  of  allot- 
ments as  above,  the  size  of  allotments  shall  be  reduced 


*  Supplement  to  Revised  Statutes  of  the  U.  S.,  I,  450. 
t  Pp.  iv-vi. 


OUTLINE    OP    THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  43 

pro  rata.  If  any  treaty  or  act  has  provided  for  larger 
allotments  on  any  reservation,  the  provisions  of  such 
treaty  or  act  shall  be  observed.  If  the  lands  allotted  are 
valuable  only  for  grazing,  the  size  of  the  allotments  shall 
be  doubled.  If  irrigation  is  necessar}^  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  may  prescribe  rules  for  a  just  distribution 
among  the  Indians  of  the  water  supply. 

"  Selections  of  allotments  shall  be  made  by  Indians, 
heads  of  families  selecting  for  their  minor  children,  but 
agents  shall  select  for  orphans.  The  lands  selected  shall 
embrace  the  improvements  made  thereon  by  the  respec- 
tive Indians. 

#  *  *  *  *  *  * 

11  If  within  four  years  after  the  President  shall  have 
directed  allotments  on  a  reservation  any  Indian  belong- 
ing thereto  shall  have  failed  to  make  his  selection,  the 
agent,  or  if  there  is  none  a  special  agent,  may  make  the 
selection  for  such  Indian,  and  the  tract  so  selected  shall 
be  allotted  to  him. 

4c  #  *  *  *  *  sje 

"  Any  Indian  not  residing  on  a  reservation,  or  for  whose 
tribe  no  reservation  has  been  provided,  may  settle  upon 
unappropriated  Government  land  and  have  the  same 
allotted  and  patented  to  him  arid  his  children. 

*  ^  *  *  *  *  * 

"  When  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  shall  have  approved 
the  allotment  made,  then  patents  for  such  lands,  recorded 
in  the  General  Land  Office,  shall  be  issued  to  the  respective 
allottees,  declaring  that  the  United  States  will  hold  said 
lands  in  trust  for  their  sole  use  and  benefit  for  twenty- 
five  years,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  will  convey  them, 
without  charge,  to  said  allottees,  or  their  heirs,  in  fee 


44  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

and  free  of  all  iiicumbrance  ;  the  President,  however, 
may  in  his  discretion  extend  the  period  beyond  twenty- 
five  years. 

"  After  patents  have  been  delivered  the  laws  of  descent 
and  partition  of  the  State  or  Territory  in  which  the  lands 
are  located  shall  apply  to  said  lands  ;  the  laws  of  Kansas 
applying  to  lands  allotted  to  the  Indian  Territory. 

"  After  lands  have  been  allotted  to  all  Indians  of  a  tribe 
(or  sooner  if  the  President  thinks  best),  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  may  negotiate  with  that  tribe  for  the  sale  of 
any  of  their  unallotted  lands,  such  negotiation  to  be 
subject  to  ratification  by  Congress. 

"  In  case  the  lands  are  thus  sold,  the  purchase  money  to 
be  paid  therefor  by  the  United  States  shall  be  held  in  the 
United  States  Treasury  in  trust  for  that  tribe,  at  three 
per  cent,  interest,  which  interest  shall  be  subject  to 
appropriation  by  Congress  for  the  civilization  of  said 

tribe. 

*  *  jji  *  *  #  * 

"  After  receiving  his  patent  every  allottee  shall  have  the 
benefit  of  and  be  subject  to  the  civil  and  criminal  laws  of 
the  State  or  Territory  in  which  he  may  reside  ;  and  no 
Territory  shall  deny  any  Indian  equal  protection  of  law  ; 
and  every  Indian  born  in  the  United  States,  who  has 
received  an  allotment  under  this  or  any  other  law  or 
treaty,  or  who  has  taken  up  his  residence  separate  from 
a  tribe  and  adopted  the  habits  of  civilized  life,  is  declared 
a  citizen  of  the  United  States  ;  but  citizenship  shall  not 
impair  any  rights  he  may  have  in  tribal  property."* 


*  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1887,  pp.  iv-vi  ; 
some  of  the  less  important  provisions  have  been  omitted  in  the  above 
extract.  For  General  Allotment  Bill  in  full,  see  ibid.,  274-7. 


OUTLINE    OF   THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  45 

Such  were  the  provisions  of  the  Dawes  Land  in  Sev- 
eralty  Bill,  a  bill  which  was  regarded  by  its  supporters 
as  marking  the  first  step  in  the  final  solution  of  our 
Indian  problem.  Previous  legislation  had  been  in  large 
measure  tentative,  had  not  been  directed  toward  a 
definite  end.  True,  it  had  aimed  at  the  ultimate  civili- 
zation of  the  Indians,  but  the  measures  adopted  to  bring 
about  this  civilization  had  lacked  breadth  and  coherence. 

The  General  Allotment  Act  was  definite  and  compre- 
hensive in  scope.  It  made  provision  for  the  settlement  of 
the  Indian  question.  Tribal  relations  were  to  be  dis- 
solved and  the  Indians  were  to  be  made  citizens  of  the 
United  States  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  at  the  end  of 
twenty-five  years  were  to  be  left  to  shift  for  themselves. 
The  Government  would  then  have  done  with  them. 

The  natural  corollary  of  the  Dawes  Bill  was  the  ulti- 
mate break-up  of  the  reservation  system.  This  system 
had  been  in  times  past  an  unqualified  necessity.  It  had 
served  a  two-fold  purpose  ;  had  protected  the  less  war- 
like Indians  from  the  murderous  and  rapacious  whites  ; 
had  facilitated  Government  control  over  the  more  war- 
like. It  has  still  a  service  to  perform  as  a  nursery  for 
the  less  civilized  Indians,  until  they  can  be  fitted  for 
contact  with  the  world.  But  every  allotment  narrows  its 
field,  and  ultimately  it  will  have  to  go.  As  citizens,  the 
Indians  must  take  their  places  in  the  current  of  civiliza- 
tion and  cannot  expect  to  be  separate  from  its  swift 
movement. 

The  cession  of  surplus  lands  was,  of  course,  the  main 
factor  in  this  break-up  of  reservations.  In  the  year 
1889-90  it  was  estimated  that  thirteen  million  acres  of 


46  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

land  were  ceded  to  the  Government,  and,  at  the  end  of 
the  year,  there  were  agreements  pending  before  Congress 
for  the  cession  of  four  million  five  hundred  thousand 
more.* 

The  sincerity  of  Congress  in  its  attitude  toward  the  new 
policy  has  been  attested.  When  the  Dawes  Bill  was  put 
into  practical  working  it  was  found  that  there  were  cer- 
tain specific  cases  which  it  did  not  cover.  Supplementary 
legislation  was  necessary,  and,  so  far  as  the  land  question 
is  concerned,  Congress  has  sought  to  supply  it.f 

But  the  land  question  does  not  stand  by  itself.  It  is 
indissolubly  connected  with  law  and  education.  The 
Indians  are  citizens  only  in  name  if  not  protected  by 
United  States  courts  and  educated  by  United  States 
schools.  Hence  the  second  feature  of  the  reform  move- 
ment was  law. 

It  is  not  proposed  to  treat  at  all  fully  the  past  or  pres- 
ent political  status  of  the  Indians  under  the  United 
States  Government.  Such  a  treatment  would  demand 
more  time  and  space  than  can  be  given  it  here  ;  but  a 
few  generalizations  may  be  of  use.  In  the  early  days  of 
our  Republic  the  autonomy  of  the  various  tribes  was 
recognized  in  theory  and  in  fact.  The  first  "agents" 
appointed  by  President  Washington  were  addressed  as 
"  commissioners  plenipotentiary  for  negotiating  and  con- 


*  Eeport  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1890,  xxxviii. 

t  The  act  of  February  28,  1891,  amended  the  General  Allotment  Act 
so  as  to  provide  for  the  allotment  of  the  same  quantity  of  land  to  each 
member  of  the  tribe  regardless  of  the  age  or  status  of  the  allottee.  See 
U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  xxvi,  794. 

Numerous  other  acts  were  passed,  many  of  them  pertaining  only  to 
certain  tribes. 


OUTLINE    OF   THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  47 

eluding  treaties  of  peace  with  the  independent  tribes  or 
nations  of  Indians  *  *  *  south  of  the  Ohio  River."* 
As  our  frontiers  were  pushed  westward,  and  we  came 
into  more  vital  contact  with  the  red  men,  it  became 
necessary,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  to  obtain  some  control 
over  them  ;  and  to  this  end  the  powers  of  the  agents  were 
gradually  increased,  still  however  mainly  in  the  direction 
of  regulating  intercourse  between  the  whites  and  the 
Indians. 

Infringement  upon  tribal  autonomy  began  with  the  act 
of  June  30,  1834. f  The  authority  of  the  governmental 
officials  was  enlarged  to  extend  over  the  Indians  and  over 
the  Indian  country.  Among  other  things  this  act  gave 
the  agent  the  power  "  to  procure  the  arrest  and  trial  of 
all  Indians  accused  of  committing  any  crime,  offense,  or 
misdemeanor."  The  act  of  March  3,  1847, \  and  that  of 
March  27, 1854,§  still  further  extended  the  powers  of  the 
agent.  These  encroachments  upon  tribal  sovereignty 
were  made  in  the  interests  of  peace  and  the  security  of 
our  frontiers.  It  was  not  the  purpose  to  weaken  tribal 
law,  but  this  result  inevitably  followed.  Thus  the  Indians 
were  practically  under  no  restraint  but  the  arbitrary 
rule  of  the  agent,  and  they  possessed  absolutely  no  redress 
for  grievances.  It  was  natural,  therefore,  that  the  agita- 
tion which  began  with  the  peace  policy  should  concern 
itself  with  the  question  of  law. 

The  appointment  of  Indian  police  was  the   direct  out- 


*  Letter  of  Washington :  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
for  1892,  p.  14. 

t  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  IV,  732. 
\  Ibid.,  IX,  203. 
§  Ibid.,  X,  270.  i 


48  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX   INDIANS. 

come  of  this  agitation.  In  the  Appropriation  Act  of  May 
27,  1878,*  Congress  authorized  the  appointment  of  fifty 
officers  and  four  hundred  and  thirty  privates  to  maintain 
order  and  prohibit  illegal  traffic  on  the  reservations.  A 
force  was  immediately  organizedf  at  thirty  different 
agencies,  and  the  Indian  police  showed  themselves  worthy 
of  the  trust  reposed  in  them.  Their  duties  took  a  wider 
range  than  was  at  first  anticipated.  They  made  them- 
selves active  in  suppressing  disorder  and  violence  and  in 
preventing  trespass  and  robbery  on  the  part  of  lawless 
whites. 

The  next  step  in  the  direction  of  law  was  the  establish- 
ment of  the  courts  of  Indian  offenses.  Upon  the  request 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  the  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs  formulated  certain  rules  for  the  abolition 
of  the  sun-dance,  the  scalp-dance,  polygamy,  and  other 
barbarous  practices.  In  accordance  with  these  rules, 
courts  were  organized  on  the  various  reservations,  each 
consisting  of  three  Indian  judges  appointed  by  the  Indian 
Office  upon  the  nomination  of  the  agent,  and  serving  for 
one  year,  subject,  however,  to  removal  at  any  time. 
These  courts  held  regular  bi-monthly  sessions.  Some 
difficulties  were  at  first  experienced  in  their  organization, 
largely  because  no  provision  had  been  made  to  recom- 
pense the  judges  ;  but;  once  organized,  they  did  good 
work.  The  penalties  imposed  were  fines,  imprisonment, 
hard  labor,  and  forfeiture  of  rations.  The  courts  were 


*  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1878,  p.  188. 

t  One  difficulty  in  the  organization  of  these  forces  was  the  small  sal- 
ary, officers  receiving  only  eight  dollars  and  privates  five  dollars  a 
month.  It  was  not  easy  to  find  competent  men  who  would  serve  for  such 
sums. 


OUTLINE    OF    THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  49 

established  in  1883,  but  were  not  recognized  by  law  until 
1888,  when  Congress  appropriated  five  thousand  dollars 
for  the  compensation  of  Indian  judges.* 

The  third  step  toward  law  was  the  Indian  Crimes  Act,f 
passed  March  3,  1885.  It  provided  that  all  Indians  com- 
mitting "  murder,  manslaughter,  rape,  assault  with  intent 
to  kill,  arson,  burglary,  and  larceny,  within  any  Territory 
of  the  United  States,  and  either  within  or  without  an 
Indian  reservation,"  should  be  subject  therefor  to  the 
laws  of  such  Territory  relating  to  said  crimes  ;  and  that 
Indians  committing  the  enumerated  crimes  within  the 
boundaries  of  a  State  should  be  tried  by  United  States 
courts.  The  defect  of  this  act  lay  in  the  failure  to  pro- 
vide for  the  reimbursement  of  the  Territories.  They  were 
unwilling  to  bear  the  cost  of  trying  the  Indians  because 
they  derived  no  revenue  from  them. 

The  three  measures  here  reviewed  were  crude  attempts 
to  furnish  the  Indians  with  law.  They  were  good  as  far 
as  they  went,  but  they  accomplished  little  more  than  the 
maintenance  of  order  through  the  arbitrary  power  of  the 
agent.  Further  legislation  was  needed,  and  this  need 
was  accentuated,  at  the  same  time  that  its  satisfaction 
was  made  more  difficult,  by  the  passage  of  the  General 
Allotment  Bill.  The  state  of  the  case  was  this  :  omit- 
ting the  tribes  maintaining  an  advanced  government  of 
their  own,  those  so  unenlightened  or  so  situated  as  to  be 
unable  to  comprehend  the  advantages  of  civilization,  and 
those  still  nomadic  and  not  yet  under  the  charge  of  any 
agent — omitting  these,  the  Indians  might  roughly  be 


*  'Act  of  June  29,  1888.     See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  xxy,  233. 
t  Ibid.,  xxiii,  385. 


50  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

divided  into  two  classes.  The  first  class  included  those 
already  or  soon  to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States  ; 
the  second,  those  who  must  undergo  a  tutelage  more  or 
less  long  before  the  President  should  deem  them  ready 
for  the  action  of  the  Land  in  Severalty  Bill.  Citizenship 
would  extend  over  the  first  class  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
courts  of  the  States  and  Territories  in  which  the  members 
respectively  resided  ;  but  these  States  and  Territories 
provided  no  machinery  for  the  administration  of  law 
upon  the  reservations.  This  need  would,  of  course,  be 
met  with  the  sale  of  the  surplus  land  and  its  occupation 
by  white  settlers.  In  the  meantime,  however,  th,e  need 
must  continue  to  exist  unless  satisfaction  could  be  pro- 
vided in  another  way.  The  second  class  of  Indians, 
those  who  must  remain  for  some  years  longer  under  the 
guardianship  of  the  United  States,  were  eventually  to 
become  citizens.  To  fit  them  for  the  duties  and  privi- 
leges which  would  then  be  theirs,  they  ought  gradually 
to  be  made  familiar  with  the  simpler  forms  of  legal  pro- 
cedure ;  and  for  this  courts  were  necessary. 

It  was  a  question  of  meeting  the  needs  of  one  or  both 
of  these  classes.  After  a  careful  consideration  of  the 
subject,  Commissioner  Morgan  decided  that  the  utmost 
that  could  be  done  at  present  was  to  help  the  non-citizen 
Indians  by  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of 
Indian  offenses.  With  this  end  in  view  he  enlarged  and 
modified  the  regulations  under  which  the  courts  were 
established.  Sufficient  time  has  not  elapsed  to  test  the 
working  of  the  new  rules.* 

The  vital  connection  which  education  bears  to  the  rest 


*  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1892,  pp.  27-31. 


OUTLINE    OF    THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  51 

of  the  reform  movement  is  apparent  on  the  surface. 
Citizenship  does  not  rightfully  belong  to  the  incapable 
and  the  unlettered.  The  Indians  must  be  made  worthy 
of  their  new  dignity,  and  one  means  to  this  end  is  to  be 
found  in  an  effective  school  system. 

Education  had  been  theoretically  a  part  of  the  civiliza- 
tion policy  of  the  Government  for  many  years.  As  far 
back  as  March  3,  1819,  Congress  had  passed  an  act* 
appropriating  ten  9  thousand  dollars  annually  for  the 
payment  of  suitable  persons  to  instruct  the  Indians  in 
agriculture,  and  to  teach  their  children  reading,  writing, 
and  arithmetic.  February  27  of  that  same  year  the 
United  States  had  agreed  to  sell  certain  lands  belong- 
ing to  the  Cherokee  Indians  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a 
fund  to  educate  their  youth. f  Subsequently,  agreements 
had  been  made  with  numerous  tribes  to  set  aside  a  por- 
tion of  their  annuities  for  the  support  of  schools.  In 
many  of  the  treaties  made  by  the  Peace  Commission  in 
1868,  the  Indians  had  pledged  themselves  to  send  all 
their  children  between  the  ages  of  six  and  sixteen  to 
school,  and  the  United  States  had  promised  to  erect  a 
school-house  and  employ  a  teacher  for  every  thirty  who 
should  attend. J 

But  it  was  not  until  1876  that  Indian  education,  as 
now  understood,  was  begun  by  the  Government.  In  that 
year,  in  addition  to  the  amounts  due  the  various  tribes 
by  treaty  for  educational  purposes,  Congress  appropriated 
twenty  thousand  dollars  for  the  support  of  Indian 


*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  III,  516. 

+  American  State  Papers,  Indian  Affairs,  II,  188. 

1  See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  xv. 


52  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

schools.  In  1879  an  act  was  passed,  authorizing  the 
Secretary  of  War  "to  detail  an  officer  of  the  army  *  * 
*  for  special  duty  with  reference  to  Indian  education."* 
In  1882  the  office  of  Inspector  of  Schoolsf  was  created, 
but  the  incumbent  was  invested  with  no  powers. J  Mean- 
while the  annual  appropriations  steadily  increased,  pass- 
ing in  1886  the  million  point. 

The  passage  of  the  Land  in  Severalty  Bill  had  a  direct 
bearing  upon  the  education  question.  In  withholding 
from  the  Indians  for  twenty-five  years  the  power  to 
alienate  their  lands,  it  left  them  in  a  state  of  "  quasi- 
Independence "  ;  and,  in  exempting  their  lands  from 
taxation  for  the  same  length  of  time,  it  practically  ex- 
cluded their  children  from  public  schools.  It  thus  became 
the  duty  of  the  Government  to  make  educational  provision 
for  these  children,  and  recent  legislation  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  Congress  views  the  matter  in  the  same 
light.  The  duties  of  the  Superintendent  of  Indian 
Schools  have  been  broadened  ;  §  compulsory  education 


*  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1879,  p.  189. 
t  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1882,  p.  196. 

$  "  The  first  Superintendent  died  in  1885,  and  hia  successor  says  of 
him  that  he  was  esteemed  an  able  and  excellent  man, '  but  at  the  time 
of  his  death  he  had  not  determined  the  functions  of  his  office.'  His  suc- 
cessor was  appointed  in  the  following  May,  and  when  he  made  his 
report  in  November,  1885,  had  found  oat  that  '  the  duties  of  the  office 
were  suggested  by  its  title,  but  not  defined  by  law.'  When  he  resigned 
his  office  to  take  another  position,  after  a  year's  faithful  effort  to  find  out 
what  these  duties  were,  he  was  decidedly  of  the  opinion  that  they  con- 
sisted largely  of  bearing  responsibility  before  the  public  for  acts  which 
he  had  no  power  to  originate  or  determine."  Eighteenth  Annual  Report 
of  the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners,  1886,  p.  65. 

§  See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  xxiv,  464. 


OUTLINE    OF   THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  53 

has  been  adopted  ;  *  Superintendents,  Assistant  Superin- 
tendents, and  teachers  have  been  put  on  the  classified 
list  of  the  Civil  Service  ;  f  last,  but  not  least,  the  annual 
appropriations  have  been  exceedingly  generous. 

The  present  educational  policy  began,  as  before  said, 
about  twenty  years  ago.  Its  rapid  growth  may  be 
seen  from  a  comparison  of  the  appropriations  of  187ft 
and  1892,  that  of  the  latter  year  being  nearly  one  hun- 
dred and  fifteen  times  as  large  as  that  of  the  former. f 
The  Government  has  not  itself,  however,  supervised  the 
expenditure  of  all  this  money.  It  has  given  a  portion  of 
it  into  the  hands  of  religious  bodies  for  the  conduct  of 
their  schools. §  In  the  beginning  this  course  was  doubt- 
less wise.  But  with  the  flight  of  time  has  come  a  grow- 
ing sentiment  that  this  union  of  church  and  State  is 
contrary  to  the  spirit  of  our  institutions  and  in  direct 
violation  to  the  first  amendment  of  our  Constitution, 
which  provides  that  "  Congress  shall  make  no  laws 
respecting  an  establishment  of  religion  or  prohibiting 
the  free  exercise  thereof. "||  It  has  been  alleged  also  that 
a  premium  is  being  put  upon  "  the  use  of  ecclesiastical 
power  for  political  purposes  in  the  shaping  of  legisla- 
tion."^ This  sentiment  was  re-enforced  by  the  refusal  of 


*  See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  xxvi,  1014. 

t  See  Keport  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1891,  I, 
156-8.  The  machinery  necessary  to  enforce  these  rules  is  still  lacking. 

t  The  appropriations  reached  their  maximum  in  1892.  Those  for 
1893  and  1894  have  been  less.  See  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  In- 
dian Affairs  for  1894,  p.  9. 

§  This  feature  of  the  educational  policy  was  adopted  in  1819.  See 
American  State  Papers,  Indian  Affairs,  II,  200-1,  272,  275-7. 

II  Report  of  the  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners  for  1890,  p.  92. 

11  Ibid.,  93-4. 


54  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

the  Bureau  of  Catholic  Missions  to  submit  to  Government 
regulations  imposed  alike  upon  contract  and  Government 
schools.  The  consequent  agitation  resulted  in  a  decrease 
of  the  amount  appropriated  to  contract  schools  in  1893, 
and  in  the  passage  of  an  act  in  1894,  directing  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  "  to  inquire  into  and  investigate  the 
propriety  of  discontinuing  contract  schools."*  This 
•  would  seem  to  point  to  the  ultimate  assumption  by  Gov- 
ernment of  the  entire  control  of  Indian,  education. 

Such  are  the  lines  along  which  the  reform  movement 
is  working.  Sufficient  time  has  not  yet  elapsed  to  justify 
a  prediction  as  to  its  final  results,  but  these  will  be  deter- 
mined largely  during  the  next  few  years.  Now,  if  ever, 
the  Indians  need  the  friends  who  have  served  them  so 
well  during  the  last  two  decades.  The  Land  in  Severalty 
Bill  is  open  to  evils  which  must  be  carefully  guarded 
against.  Most  notable  among  these  are  throwing  open 
the  reservations  to  allotment  before  the  Indians  are  ready 
for  it,  and  settling  the  Indians  upon  poor  lands.  The 
first  is  caused  by  the  rapacity  of  the  whites  for  surplus 
lands  ;  and  the  second,  by  their  desire  that  these  lands 
shall  be  of  the  best.f  Manifestly  the  preventive  of  these 
evils  lies  in  a  pure  administration  of  our  Indian  service. 
The  Government  officers,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest, 
must  be  men  of  integrity  and  ability,  and  must  not  be 
removed  for  political  reasons.  The  spoils  system  must 
be  entirely  abandoned.  A  step  in  this  direction  was 
taken  by  President  Harrison,  who,  by  executive  order, 


*  Twelfth  Annual  Report  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Indian 
Rights  Association,  8. 

t  See  Twelfth  Annual  Report  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Indian  Rights  Association,  37-38. 


OUTLINE    OF   THE    INDIAN    POLICY.  55 

April  13,  1891,  extended  the  Civil  Service  rules  so  as  to 
embrace  the  appointments  of  Superintendents,  Assistant 
Superintendents,  physicians,  teachers,  and  matrons.  The 
welfare  of  the  Indians  demands  a  further  extension  of 
these  rules.  The  agents  are  as  yet  selected  without  any 
guarantee  as  to  their  integrity  or  fitness  for  the  positions 
which  they  are  to  occupy  ;  and  these  agents  are,  and 
must  remain  for  some  time,  most  important  factors  in 
the  development  of  the  Indians,  and  upon  them  largely 
depends  the  preparation  of  these  Indians  for  citizenship. 
Finally,  the  thorough  carrying  out  of  the  reform 
movement  demands  a  comprehensive  system*  of  educa- 
tion. Enough  schools  must  be  provided  to  accommodate 
all  the  Indian  youth,  and  of  such  a  character  as  to  make 
it  possible  to  merge  them  ultimately  in  our  public  school 
system.!  We  have  attempted  a  final  solution  of  the 
Indian  question.  The  character  of  the  solution,  how- 
ever, is  still  a  problem.  It  may  be  that  after  all  we  are 
forcing  citizenship  upon  the  Indians  before  they  are 
ready  for  it.  Even  at  this  late  date  a  change  of  policy 
may  be  necessary.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  American  people, 
as  represented  by  Congress,  to  study  the  results  of  the 
present  policy  so  carefully  that  their  future  legislation 
shall  redound  to  the  welfare  of  the  Indians  and  to  the 
honor  of  the  Republic. 


*  For  an  outline  of  such  a  system,  see  T.  J.  Morgan's  Indian  Educa- 
tion. 

t  The  Indian  Office  is  making  an  effort  in  this  direction  by  offering 
the  public  schools  of  the  States  ten  dollars  a  quarter  for  every  Indian 
child  within  their  limits  who  shall  attend. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  Sioux  FROM  1803  TO  1850. 

It  was  in  the  year  1803,  during  the  presidency  of 
Jefferson,  that  the  United  States  purchased  the  Louisiana 
Territory  from  France.  It  was  a  country  of  vast  extent, 
larger  in  area  than  the  original  thirteen  colonies,  and  of 
great  resources,  but  as  yet  little  known.  That  portions 
of  it  abounded  in  rich  fur-bearing  animals  was  evidenced 
by  the  lucrative  trade  which  the  English  carried  on  with 
the  natives  ;  and  it  was  Jefferson's  desire  to  turn  this 
trade  into  American  channels  which  prompted  the  Lewis 
and  Clark  expeditions  of  the  years  1804  to  1806.*  He 
wished  to  open  a  field  to  the  private  American  trader 
whom  the  Government  trading-houses  had  dislodged  east 
of  the  Mississippi ;  and  with  this  end  in  view  he  urged 
the  exploration  of  the  Missouri  to  its  source  and  the 
search  for  an  overland  route  to  the  Pacific.  The  advance 
in  the  geographical  knowledge  of  our  continent  was  re- 
garded as  purely  incidental,  as  "  an  additional  gratifica- 
tion."! 

The  expedition  was  made,  and  the  records  of  it  fur- 
nish us  with  our  first  reliable  information  concerning 
the  location  of  the  Sioux  tribes.  It  will  be  necessary  to 
pause  here  for  a  moment  to  draw  the  distinction  between 
the  terms  Siouan  and  Sioux.  Siouan  is  an  adjective  derived 
from  the  word  Sioux  and  used  to  denote  the  entire  lin- 


*  See  Jefferson's  Message  of  January  18,  1803 :  Amer.  State  Papers, 
Ind.  Affs.,1,  684. 

t  American  State  Papers,  Ind.  Affs.,  I,  685. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1803   TO    1850.  57 

guistic  stock  of  which  the  Sioux,  or  more  properly  the 
Dakotas,  are  the  most  important  division.  Sioux  is  "  a 
corruption  of  the  Algonkin  word  nadowe-ssi-wag,  'the 
snake-like  ones'.  *  *  *  The  term  'Dahcota'  (Da- 
kota) was  correctly  applied  by  Gallatiii  to  the  Dakota 
tribes  proper  as  distinguished  from  the  other  members 
of  the  linguistic  family  who  are  not  Dakotas  in  a  tribal 
sense."* 

Lewis  and  Clark  left  St.  Louis  May  14,  1804,  and 
ascended  the  Missouri  river  to  its  source,  at  the  same 
time  exploring  much  of  the  surrounding  country.  They 
then  crossed  the  Kocky  Mountains,  and  followed  the 
Columbia  river  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  returning  to  St. 
Louis  after  an  absence  of  two  years  and  four  months. 
During  this  expedition  they  visited  the  various  Sioux 
tribes,  obtained  as  much  information  about  them  as  they 
could  under  the  circumstances,  and  located  them  as 
definitely  as  was  possible  with  a  roving  people.  According 
to  Lewis  and  Clark,  the  Sioux  were  divided  into  ten 
bands,  and,  to  quote  the  words  of  these  explorers,  were 
located  as  follows  : 

"  First,  Yanktons.  This  tribe  inhabits  the  Sioux,  Des 
Moines,  and  Jacques  rivers,  and  numbers  about  two  hun- 
dred warriors. 

"  Second,  Tetons  of  the  Burnt  Woods.  *  *  *  This 
tribe  numbers  about  three  hundred  men,  who  rove  on 
both  sides  of  the  Missouri,  White,  and  Teton  rivers. 

"  Third,  Tetons  Okandandas(0gallalas),a  tribe  consist- 
ing of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  who  inhabit 
both  sides  of  the  Missouri  below  the  Cheyenne  river. 


Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1885-6,  111-112. 


58  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

"  Fourth,  Tetons  Minnakenozzo  (Minneconjou),  a  nation 
inhabiting  both  sides  of  the  Missouri  above  the  Cheyenne 
river,  and  containing  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men. 

"  Fifth,  Tetons  Saone.  These  inhabit  both  sides  of  the 
Missouri  below  the  Warreconne  river,  and  consist  of 
about  three  hundred  men. 

"  Sixth,  Yanktons  of  the  *  *  *  Plains,  or  Big  Dev- 
ils, who  rove  on  the  heads  of  the  Sioux,  Jacques,  and  Red 
rivers  ;  the  most  numerous  of  all  the  tribes,  numbering 
about  five  hundred  men. 

"  Seventh,  Wahpatone,  *  *  *  a  nation  residing  on 
the  St.  Peter's,  just  above  the  mouth  of  that  river,  num- 
bering two  hundred  men. 

"  Eighth,  Mindawarcarton  (Mdewakantonwan).  *  *  * 
These  possess^  the  original  seat  of  the  Sioux,  and  are 
properly  so  denominated.  They  rove  on  both  sides  of 
the  Mississippi  about  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony,  and  con- 
sist of  three  hundred  men. 

"  Ninth,  The  Wahpatoota  (Wahpekute).  *  *  *  This 
nation  inhabits  both  sides  of  the  river  St.  Peter's,  below 
Yellow-wood  river,  amounting  to  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men. 

"Tenth,  Sistasoone  (Sisseton).  This  .nation  numbers 
two  hundred  men,  who  reside  at  the  head  of  St.  Peter's."* 

The  aggregate  number  of  souls  in  these  bands  was 
about  nine  thousand  three  hundred.  This  was,  however, 
only  approximate  ;  for  it  must  be  remembered  that  they 
were  roving  bands,  moving  hither  and  thither  as  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  hunt  or  trade  might  require.  The  Statis- 
tical View  of  1806  says  that  much  of  the  land  belonging 


*  Coues'  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition,  I,  97-102. 


THE    SIOUX    FROM    1803   TO    1850.  59 

to  the  Sioux  was  fertile,  and  a  large  part  of  it  well  tim- 
bered and  watered.  The  Mdewakantonwans,  however,  were 
the  only  band  that  cultivated  corn,  etc. ;  and  even  these 
could  not  properly  be  teamed  a  stationary  people.  The 
Sissetons,  living  in  a  country  abounding  in  valuable  fur- 
bearing  animals,  such  as  the  beaver,  otter,  and  martin, 
purchased  more  merchandise  in  proportion  to  their  num- 
bers than  any  other  neighboring  tribe  ;  and  disposed  of 
a  large  part  of  this  merchandise  in  their  trade  with  the 
Tetons.  As  a  rule,  these  tribes,  together  with  the  Wah- 
pekute  and  Wahpeton,  their  neighbors,  treated  their 
traders  well.* 

Certainly  as  much  could  not  be  said  of  the  Tetons, 
"  the  pirates  of  the  Missouri."  These,  says  Clark,  "  rely- 
ing on  a  regular  supply  of  merchandise  through  the 
channel  of  the  river  St.  Peter's,  *  *  *  view  with 
contempt  the  merchants  of  the  Missouri,  whom  they 
never  fail  to  plunder  when  in  their  power. "f  And  this, 
he  thought,  they  would  continue  to  do  until,  in  his  own 
words,  "  such  measures  are  pursued  by  our  Government 
as  will  make  them  feel  a  dependence  on  its  will  for  their 
supply  of  merchandise. "J 

The  Yanktons,  says  Lewis,  "are  the  best  disposed 
Sioux  who  rove  on  the  banks  of  the  Missouri,  and  these 
even  will  not  suffer  any  trader  to  ascend  the  river,  if 
they  can  possibly  avoid  it  ;  they  have  heretofore,  invari- 


*  Lewis'  Statistical  View  :  Coues'  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition,  I, 
•99-100,  note. 

t  Lewis'  Statistical  View,  1806 :  Coues'  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedi- 
tion, 1, 128,  note  67. 

J  Lewis'  Statistical  View,  1806 :  Coues'  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition, 
I,  128,  note  67. 


60  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

ably,  arrested  the  progress  of  all  those  they  have  met 
with,  and  generally  compelled  them  to  trade  at  the  prices, 
nearly,  which  they  themselves  think  proper  to  fix  on 
their  merchandise.  *  *  *  Their  trade,  if  well  regu- 
lated, might  be  rendered  extremely  valuable."*  This 
band  was  independent  of  the  other  Sioux  bands,  as,  in- 
deed, each  was  of  the  others. 

Such  are  the  important  facts  concerning  the  Sioux  in 
the  years  1805-6.  On  the  whole,  Lewis  and  Clark's 
classification  is  remarkably  close  to  that  recently  made 
by  Major  J.  W.  Powell,  Director  of  the  Bureau  of  Eth- 
nology, f  Several  bands  of  Tetons  are  omitted  in  the 
former,  but,  under  the  circumstances,  such  a  discrepancy 
is  not  surprising. 


*  Cones'  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition,  I,  94,  footnote  8.  Quoted  from 
Statistical  View,  London  ed.,  1807,  p.  18. 

t  Major  J.  W.  Powell's  classification  is  as  follows : 

A.  Son  tee  :  including  Mdewakanton.wan  and  Wahpekute.      [Lewis 

and  Clark's  eighth  and  ninth  tribes.] 

B.  Sisseton.  [Lewis  and  Clark's  tenth  tribe.] 

C.  Wahpeton.          [Lewis  and  Clark's  seventh  tribe.] 

D.  Yankton.  [Lewis    and    Clark's  first  tribe.] 

E.  Yanktonnais.      [Lewis  and  Clark's  sixth  tribe.] 

F.  Teton. 

(a)  Brule\  [Lewis  and  Clark's  second  tribe.] 

(b)  Sans  Arcs. 

(c)  Blackfeet. 

(d)  Minneconjou.      [Lewis  and  Clark's  fourth  tribe.] 

(e)  Two  Kettles. 

(f)  Ogallala.  [Lewis  and  Clark's  third  tribe.] 

(g)  Uncpapa. 

Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology  for  1885-6,  114-15. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  concerning  Lewis  and  Clark's  fifth 
tribe.  Coues  says  the  balance  of  evidence  is  in  favor  of  referring  it  to 
the  Yanktonnais:  Coues'  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition,  I,  101,  note  10. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1803   TO   1850.  61 

In  the  year  1805  Captain  Zebulon  M.  Pike  was  com- 
missioned by  the  War  Department  to  explore  the  sources 
of  the  Mississippi  and  "  the  internal  parts  of  Louisiana."* 
In  his  report  of  this  expedition  we  find  some  interesting 
comments  on  the  fur  trade.  Mr.  Jay's  treaty  of  1794f 
had  given  British  subjects  the  right  to  trade  with  In- 
dians on  American  soil,  but  had  not  "  exempted  them 
from  paying  the  duties,  obtaining  licenses,  and  subscrib- 
ing unto  all  the  rules  and  restrictions  of  our  laws."! 
They  had  accepted  the  privilege,  but  not  the  obligations 
accompanying  it.  As  a  result  they  were  able  to  under- 
sell our  traders  ;  and,  indeed,  had  quite  driven  them 
from  the  field.  Lieutenant  Pike  laid  the  matter  before 
the  Northwest  Company,  and  obtained  from  it  a  promise 
to  observe  our  regulations  in  the  future.  This  advantage 
was  followed  in  1809  by  the  organization  of  the  American 
Fur  Company,  which  in  1811  was  consolidated  with  the 
Mackinaw  Company  and  formed  the  Southwest  Com- 
pany. But  in  1812  the  war  broke  out,  and  the  trade  of 
the  Southwest  Company  was  ruined.  The  company  re- 
appeared, however,  in  1816,  the  same  year  in  which 
Congress  passed  a  law§  prohibiting  foreigners  from  car- 
rying on  the  fur  trade  within  the  territories  of  the  United 


*  Captain  Pike's  classification  and  location  of  the  Sioux  tribes  agrees 
substantially  with  that  made  by  Lewis  and  Clark.  His  judgment  of 
their  numbers  is  greater  and  his  conception  of  their  morality  higher  ; 
but  these  are  points  upon  which  individual  explorers  might  well  differ, 
depending  upon  the  extent  and  thoroughness  of  the  exploration,  the 
temper  of  the  natives  at  the  time  and  their  reception  of  the  explorers. 

t  See  Treaties  and  Conventions,  380-1. 

t  Pike's  Expedition,  Appendix  to  Part  I,  14. 

§  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  III,  332. 


62  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

States.  This  was  aimed  at  the  English  and  was  designed 
to  end  their  influence  over  our  Indian  tribes.  But  it  was 
soon,  found  that  foreign  clerks,  interpreters,  and  boatmen 
could  not  be  dispensed  with  ;  and,  in  the  summer  of 
1816,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  issued  orders  to 
Indian  agents  to  license  foreigners  in  these  capacities 
"  on  their  giving  bond  with  large  penalties  for  good  con- 
duct in  the  Indian  country."*  British  traders  eagerly 
seized  this  opportunity,  passed  the  American  agencies  in 
the  guise  of  clerks  and  interpreters,  and,  once  in  the 
country,  took  possession  of  the  goods  which  had  made 
their  way  through  the  lines  as  the  property  of  an  Amer- 
ican, whose  employee  the  British  trader  had  presumably 
been.f  The  English,  therefore,  continued  to  hold  a 
monopoly  of  the  fur  trade  for  some  years  longer  ;  and 
this  despite  the  fact  that  in  1814  the  Government  had 
"  provided  for  locating  trading  posts  "  at  Green  Bay  and 
Prairie  du  Chien,  and  in  1816  had  sent  garrisons  there.]: 
Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  Government  trading-houses 
proved  a  failure.  They  neither  attached  the  Indians  to 
the  United  States,  nor  counteracted  the  influence  of  the 
British  trader.  During  these  years,  therefore,  the  Sioux 
were  unaffected  by  the  national  policy. 

In  the  war  of  1812  the  Indians  of  the  Northwest  had, 
for  the  most  part,  sided  with  Great  Britain  ;  and,  at  the 
close  of  the  war,  treaties  were  made  between  the  United 


*  Wis.  Hist.  Colls.,  II,  103. 

t-See  Wis.  Hist.  Colls.,  II,  103  ;  Minn.  Hist.  Colls.,  V,  9  ;  Turner, 
Character  and  Influence  of  Indian  Trade  in  Wisconsin,  57-8.  For  the 
attitude  of  the  English  toward  these  posts,  as  affecting  their  relations 
with  the  Indians,  see  Mich.  Pioneer  Colls.,  XVI,  76  ff. 

$  Turner,  Character  and  Influence  of  Indian  Trade  in  Wisconsin,  58. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1803   TO   1850.  63 

States  and  the  various  tribes  for  the  purpose  of  re-estab- 
lishing peace  and  friendship.  These  treaties  read  as 
follows  : 

"  Article  1.  Every  injury,  or  act  of  hostility,  com- 
mitted by  one  or  either  of  the  contracting  parties  against 
the  other,  shall  be  mutually  forgiven  and  forgot. 

"Art.  2.  There  shall  be  perpetual  peace  and  friend- 
ship between  all  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  of 
America  and  all  the  individuals  composing  the  said 

tribe  ;  and  the  friendly  relations  that  existed  between 

them  before  the  war  shall  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby, 
renewed. 

"  Art.  3.  The  undersigned  chiefs  and  warriors,  for 
themselves  and  their  said  tribe,  do  hereby  acknowledge 
themselves  and  their  aforesaid  tribe  to  be  under  the 
protection  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and  of  no 
other  nation,  power,  or  sovereign  whatsoever."* 

During  the  years  1815  and  1816  five  such  treaties  were 
made  with  the  Sioux  ;  one  with  the  "  Teetons,"f  one  with 
the  "  Sioux  of  the  Lakes  "J  (Mdewakantonwan),  one  with 
the  "Sioux  of  the  river  St.  Peter's  "§  (Wahpeton),  one 
with  the  "  Yanctons/'||  and  one  with  the  "  Siouxs  of  the 
Leaf,  the  Siouxs  of  the  Broad  Leaf,  and  the  Siouxs 
who  shoot  in  the  Pine  Tops  "T  (probably  Wahpekute). 

From  this  time  until  1825  the  Government  had  but 
slight  dealings  with  these  bands.  The  United  States 


*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  125. 

t  Ibid. 

t  Ibid.,  126. 

$  Ibid.,  127. 

I!  Ibid.,  128. 

IT  Ibid.,  143. 


64  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

had  not  yet  extended  its  frontiers  to  their  territory,  and 
there  were  no  critical  conditions  calling  for  legislation. 
It  was  the  almost  continuous  intertribal  warfare  between 
the  Sioux  and  their  inveterate  enemies,  the  Chippewas, 
and  the  wars  between  the  Sioux,  Sacs  and  Foxes,  and 
loways,  which  next  called  the  attention  of  the  United 
States  to  the  western  Indians.  These  constant  feuds 
interrupted  trade  and  endangered  the  lives  of  those  citi- 
zens living  in  this  part  of  the  country.  Sound  polity, 
therefore,  and  humanitarian  motives  regarding  the  wel- 
fare of  the  Indians  prompted  the  Government  to  attempt 
mediation.  Accordingly,  commissioners  were  sent  to 
Prairie  du  Chien,  and  August  19,  1825,  a  treaty  was  made 
"  with  the  Sioux  and  Chippewa,  Sacs  and  Fox,  Manoini- 
nie,  loway,  Sioux,  Winnebago,  and  a  portion  of  the  Ot- 
tawa, Chippewa,  and  Potawattomie  tribes."* 

By  this  treaty  boundaries!  were  established  between 
the  tribes,  and  perpetual  peace  declared  between  those 
that  had  been  at  war. 

During  this  same  year  three  other  treaties  were  made 
with  the  Sioux];  to  perpetuate  friendship  with  them 
and  to  remove  all  future  dissention  concerning  trade.  In 
these  treaties  the  various  bands  promised  to  protect  the 
persons  and  property  of  United  States  traders  and  agents, 


*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  272  ff.  The  Sioux  were  represented 
by  the  "  Wahpetong,"  "  Sussitong,"  "  Wappacoota,"  "  Medawakan- 
ton  "  and  "  Yancton  "  tribes. 

t  These  boundary  lines  were  not  complete  because  some  of  the  tribes 
interested  were  absent  from  the  council. 

$  One  with  the  "Teton,  Yanctons,  and  Yanctonies  bands  :  "  U.  S. 
Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  250  ;  one  with  the  "  Siouna  and  Ogallala  tribes :  " 
ibid.,  252  ;  one  with  the  "  Hunkpapas  band  :  "  ibid.,  257. 


THE    SIOUX    FROM    1803   TO    1850.  65 

to  give  safe  conduct  to  persons  legally  authorized  by  the 
United  States  to  pass  through  their  country,  and  to 
apprehend  and  deliver  to  United  States  authorities  for- 
eigners not  so  authorized.  There  were  other  provisions 
of  minor  importance  concerning  points  which,  if  not 
made  clear,  might  cause  future  trouble.* 

The  treaty  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  which  had  been  made 
in  the  hope  of  promoting  peace  between  the  warring 
bands  of  Indians,  did  not  accomplish  its  object.  In  the 
report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1829-30, 
we  read  that  the  Sioux  and  Sacs  and  Foxes  are  still 
fighting  each  other, f  and  that  they  will,  it  is  presumed, 
continue  to  do  so  "  until  some  one  or  other  of  the  tribes 
shall  become  too  reduced  and  feeble  to  carry  on  the  war, 
when  it  will  be  lost  as  a  separate  power. "J  Meanwhile, 
however,  the  United  States  again  attempted  mediation, 
and  this  led  to  the  treaty  of  July  15, 1830.  According  to 
Article  I  of  this  treaty,  the  Indians  relinquished  a  certain 
tract  of  land  between  the  Missouri  and  Demoine  rivers. 
This  tract  was  to  be  assigned  or  allotted  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  the  tribes 
then  living  thereon,  or  to  such  other  tribes  as  the  Presi- 
dent might  locate  thereon  for  hunting  or  other  purposes. 
In  consideration  of  this  cession  the  United  States  agreed 
to  pay  the  various  tribes  certain  annuities  for  ten  }rears,§ 

*  See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  253,  Art.  5.  This  article  pro- 
vided for  the  punishment  of  individuals  for  injuries  done  the  Indians, 
and  for  the  recovery  of  stolen  property  or  indemnification  therefor. 

t  For  a  graphic  account  of  one  of  these  Indian  massacres,  see  Wis. 
Hist.  Colls.,  IX,  323  ff. 

J  Niles  Register,  XXXVII,  363. 

§  To  the  Sioux  of  the  Mississippi,  two  thousand  dollars.  To  the 
Yankton  and  Santee  bands,  three  thousand  dollars.  To  the  Mdewakan- 


RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

and  to  spend  annually  for  the  same  number  of  years 
three  thousand  dollars  in  educating  their  children      The 
Yankton  and  Santee  bands  of  Sioux  were  not  represented 
the  council  at  which  these  articles  were  drawn  up,  but 
signed   the  treaty  some  seven  months  later.     That'  the 
provisions  of  this  treaty  were  not  understood  by  all  the 
Indian  tribes  party  to  it,  is  demonstrated  by  the  trouble 
which  arose  when  the  President  assigned  the  ceded  tract 
land  to  the  Winnebagoes.     The  Sioux  then  asserted 
that,  at  the  council,  one  of  the  United  States  Commis- 
sioners had  explained  to  them  that  this  was  to  be  neutral 
territory,  held  in  trust  by  the  United  States  for  the  tribes 
party  to  the  treaty  by  which  it  had  been  ceded.*     The 
words  of  Article  I,  however,  bore  out  the  United  States, 
and  the  Sioux  finally  yielded. 

During  the  next  few  years  little  was  heard  of  the  Sioux 
They  were  scarcely  mentioned  at  all  in  the  reports  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  except  in  connection 
with  the  annuities  due  them  by  the  treaty  of  1830.  The 
United  States  had  grown  hardened  to  the  intertribal  war- 
fare upon  its  northwestern  frontier,  a  warfare  which  ap- 
parently it  was  powerless  to  stop  ;  and  the  Sioux  were 
left  to  themselves. 

It  was  in  behalf  of  the  State  of  Missouri  that  the  Gov- 

tonwan,   Wahpekute,   Wahpeton,  and  Sisseton   bands  of  Sioux    -one 
icksmith  at  the  expense  of  the  United   States,  and  the  necessary 
tools  ;  also  instruments  for  agricultural  purposes,  and  iron  and  steel  to 
the  amount  of  seven  hundred  dollars."    To  the  Yankton  and  Santee 
bands  of  Sioux,  «  one  blacksmith  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States 
the  necessary  tools,  also  instruments  for  agricultural  purposes  to  the 
amount  of  four  hundred  dollars."    U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  329. 

*  See  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1836-7  •  Fv 
Docs.,  24th  Cong.,  2nd  Sess.,  Vol.  I,  369-70. 


THE    SIOUX    FROM    1803   TO    1850.  67 

eminent  next  approached  them.  By  the  treaty  of  Prairie 
du  Chieii  in  1830,  the  Indians,  as  before  said,  ceded  a 
certain  tract  of  land  with  the  understanding  that  it  was 
to  be  assigned  to  the  tribes  then  living  thereon,  or  to  be 
located  thereon  in  the  future  by  the  President.  A  por- 
tion of  this  tract  lay  between  the  western  boundary  of 
Missouri  and  the  Missouri  river.*  This  the  citizens  of 
the  State  were  naturally  anxious  to  possess,  and  the  Fed- 
eral Government  was  induced  to  treat  with  the  Indians 
for  its  cession.  Conventions  were  held  with  the  various 
tribes  in  the  fall  of  1836,  and  the  land  purchased  of  them.f 
The  Sioux  sold  their  right  for  $1,950,  Wabashaw's  tribe 
receiving  $400,J  the  Yankton  and  Santee  bands  $1,000,§ 
the  Wahpekute,  Sisseton,  and  Upper  Mdewakantonwan 
tribes  $550.| 

This  was  the  first  of  a  series  of  cessions.  The  second 
was  made  in  the  year  1837,  and  this  time  the  motives 
which  prompted  the  United  States  to  treat  were  of  na- 
tional importance.  Negotiations  were  begun  in  pursu- 
ance of  the  central  principle  of  the  removal  policy,  the 
policy  of  buying  up  all  the  Indian  lands  in  the  States  and 
Territories,  and  massing  the  Indians  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Mississippi.  Deputations  of  chiefs  were  invited  to  Wash- 
ington to  impress  them  with  the  strength  of  our  nation, 


*  See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  328-9. 

t  There  were  three  separate  treaties  with  the  Sioux. 

$  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  510-11. 

§  Ibid.,  525. 

il  Ibid.,  527.  The  next  year  the  Yanktoiis  sold  their  right  to  the  en- 
tire tract  of  land  ceded  by  the  various  tribes  to  the  Government  in  1830, 
with  the  provision  that  U  should  remain  Indian  country.  This  treaty  of 
October  21,  1837,  with  the  Yanktons  has  been  omitted  from  the  text  for 
the  sake  of  simplification.  See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  542-3. 


68  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

and  to  make  them  sensible  of  the  advantages  which  flow 
from  civilization.  It  was  during  this  visit  that  the 
Mdewakantonwan  Sioux  ceded  to  the  United  States  all 
their  lands  "  east  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  all  their 
islands  in  the  said  river."*  The  United  States,  on  its 
part,  promised  to  invest  the  sum  of  $300,000  in  safe  State 
stocks,  and  to  pay  the  Indians  "annually,  forever,"  an 
interest  of  five  per  cent,  thereon  ;  to  distribute  $110,000 
among  the  mixed  bloods  ;  to  apply  $90,000  to  the  pay- 
ment of  the  just  debts  of  the  tribe  ;  to  pay  $10,000  annu- 
ally for  twenty  years  to  the  chiefs  and  braves  ;  to  expend 
$8,250  annually  for  twenty  years  "  in  the  purchase  of 
medicines,  agricultural  implements  and  stock  and  for  the 
support  of  a  physician,  farmers  and  blacksmiths  ; "  to 
expend  $5,500  annually  for  twenty  years  in  the  purchase 
of  provisions  ;  to  supply  the  Indians  as  soon  as  possible, 
to  an  amount  not  exceeding  $10,000,  "  with  agricultural 
implements,  mechanics'  tools,  cattle  and  such  other  ar- 
ticles "  as  might  be  useful  to  them  ;  to  deliver  $6,000  in 
goods  to  the  chiefs  and  braves. 

If  we  ma}7  judge  from  the  above  provisions,  an  attempt 
was  to  be  made  to  start  the  Mdewakantonwans  upon  an  ag-' 
ricultural  life.  They  had  subsisted  hitherto  chiefly  by 
the  hunt,  although  as  far  back  as  1805  they  had  been 
known  to  raise  small  quantities  of  corn  and  beans.  But 
dependence  upon  the  hunt  was  becoming  somewhat  pre- 
carious. The  results  of  the  long  continued  depredations 
of  the  British  half-breeds,  who  crossed  the  border  and 
killed  great  numbers  of  buffalo,f  were  beginning  to  be 

*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  VII,  538. 

t  "  The  British  half-breeds  of  the  North  Red  river  still  continue  their 
annual  incursions  upon  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Sioux  within  our  ter- 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1803  TO   1850.  69 

felt.  Other  game,  too,  was  becoming  scarce  and  the  trade 
in  furs  had  decreased.  The  annuities  were  therefore 
very  welcome  to  the  Mdewakantonwans.  But  they  showed 
little  inclination  to  settle  down  to  agriculture.  It  would 
have  been  strange  indeed  if  they  had  shown  any.  It 
would  have  meant  the  laying  aside  of  instincts  and 
habits,  and  the  adoption  of  an  entirely  new  mode  of  life. 
Moreover,  the  United  States  was  by  no  means  prompt 
in  providing  agricultural  implements,  tools,  and  cattle. 
The  backwardness  of  the  Mdewakantonwans  in  taking 
hold  of  farming  seems,  therefore,  most  natural,  and  the 
discouragement  of  the  agent  a  little  unreasonable.  At 
this  time,  too,  the  whisky  traffic  was  exerting  a  most 
demoralizing  influence  over  the  Indians.  The  liquor  was 
introduced  largely  by  factors  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, though  our  own  traders  were  not  without  fault. 
Suffering  from  scarcity  of  game,  demoralized  by  whisky, 
and  harassed  by  their  fierce  enemies,  the  Chippewas,  the 
Sioux  had  a  sorry  time  of  it.  No  wonder  the  Commis- 
sioner wrote  in  1847  that  there  was  a  strong  desire  among 


ritory,  and  slaughter  large  numbers  of  buffalo,  the  meat  of  which  is 
dried,  and  used  for  the  subsistence  of  the  traders  connected  with  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  also  kill  other  animals  valuable  for  their 
furs.  "::"  These  incursions  have  led  to  quarrels  and  disputes  be- 

tween them  and  the  Sioux,  some  of  which  are  said  to  have  been  attend- 
ed with  fatal  consequences.  The  Briiish  half-breeds  complained  of  are 
represented  as  numerous,  warlike,  and  well  armed,  and  consequently 
come  into  our  territory  prepared  to  resist  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
Sioux  to  drive  them  away."  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs, 
1845-6:  Sen.  Ex.  Docs.,  2nd  Sess.,  28th  Cong.,  I,  454. 

The  United  States  sent  a  detachment  of  dragoons  in  1845  to  inform 
these  half  breeds  that  they  would  not  be  allowed  to  hunt  within  our  ter- 
ritories, but  this  order  had  little  effect. 


70  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

them  to  increase  their  annuities  and  that  land  was  prob- 
ably purchasable.* 

Such  is  a  brief  outline  of  the  history  of  the  Sioux  from 
1803  to  1850.  Thus  far  they  had  been  a  factor  of  com- 
paratively slight  importance  in  the  determination  of  the 
governmeiftal  policy,  and  had  been  little  affected  by  it. 
Placed  on  the  frontiers  of  the  United  States,  and  remote 
from  civilized  communities  of  any  size,  they  had  been 
left  free  to  live  as  they  chose,  the  Government  paying 
little  heed  to  them  except  as  it  found  occasion  to  make 
treaties  with  the  various  tribes  and  bands.  Up  to  this 
time  no  accurate  estimate  had  been  made  of  their  num- 
bers, and  only  a  few  tribes  had  been  at  all  definitely  lo- 
cated. With  the  great  body  of  the  Sioux  roaming  over  the 
plains  of  the  Missouri  the  Government  had  had  no  rela- 
tions whatever,!  and  its  hold  upon  even  the  Sioux  of  the 
Mississippi!  was  very  loose.  An  attempt,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  been  made  to  start  the  Mdewakantonwans  upon 
an  agricultural  life.  But  that  the  Government  was  not 
sanguine  as  to  the  result  of  this  attempt  may  be  seen 
from  these  words  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
in  1848  :  "  Of  the  Sioux  it  is  not  probable  that  many 
will  remain  for  any  considerable  period  in  the  Mississippi 
regions  ;  wild  and  untameable  and  scattered  over  an  im- 
mense extent  of  country,  no  effort  could  concentrate 
them  ;  and  living  wholly  by  the  chase  they  will  probably 


*  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1846-47:  Ex.  Docs., 
2nd  Sess.,  29th  Cong.,  I,  244. 

t  The  treaty  of  1815  with  the  Tetons  and  those  of  1815  and  1837  with 
the  Yanktons  were  made  by  representatives  of  only  a  small  portion  of 
these  large  tribes. 

+  Mdewakantonwau,  Wahpekute,  Sisseton,  and  Wahpeton  bands. 


THE    SIOUX    FROM    1803   TO    1850.  71 

follow  the  luffalo  and  other  game  as  it  gradually  disap- 
pears towards  the  Rocky  Mountains,  either  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  head-waters  of  the  Platte  or  of  the  Missouri 
river  or  both."* 

Here  it  may  be  noted  how  large  a  part  the  abun- 
dance and  scarcity  of  game  played  in  determining  the 
attitude  of  the  Indians  toward  the  Government  and  vice 
versa.  As  long  as  the  tribes  found  it  easy  to  support 
themselves  by  the  hunt,  so  long  they  felt  independent 
and  disinclined  to  look  with  favor  upon  overtures  for  the 
cession  of  lands. \  In  the  preamble  of  the  treaty  of  1837 
with  the  Mdewakantonwans,  it  was  alleged  that  they  were 
influenced  to  cede  this  portion  of  their  territory  by  the 
fact  that  it  was  becoming  valueless  to  them  for  the  pur- 
pose of  hunting.  And  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
cession  of  1851  was  the  more  easily  obtained  from  the 
Mississippi  Sioux  because  they  realized  that  their  only 
hope  for  future  subsistence  lay  in  farming  and  annuities. 
The  inroads  of  British  half-breeds  and  the  pressure  of 
the  white  population  were  bringing  about  a  rapid  extinc- 
tion of  game. 

It  is  well  to  note  this  point  here,  because  from  the  year 
1851  it  will  be  necessary  to  treat  separately  the  Sioux  of 
the  Mississippi  and  the  wilder  Sioux  of  the  plains.  The 
easterly  bands  had  then  become  absolutely  dependent 
upon  the  Government,  and  their  future,  once  for  all,  lay 
in  its  hands  ;  the  westerly  were  still  independent,  because 
still  in  possession  of  broad  hunting  grounds  and,  as  yet, 


*  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1848,  p.  300. 

t  This  same  question  of  subsistence  by  the  hunt  determined  in  large 
measure  their  migrations.  See  Lewis  H.  Morgan's  Indian  Migrations, 
No.  Am.,  109:  391. 


72  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

not  demoralized  by  the  pernicious  system  of  annuities. 
Speaking  in  a  broad  way,  the  fate  of  the  former  depended 
upon  the  governmental  policy  ;  the  conduct  of  the  latter 
temporarily  determined  that  policy. 

This  same  year,  then,  may  be  taken  as  the  turning- 
point  in  the  history  of  the  Sioux.  They  rose  from  unim- 
portance to  importance  in  our  national  councils.  Hith- 
erto they  had  been  too  remote  from  the  borders  either  to 
affect  public  policy  or  to  be  influenced  by  it.  But  during 
the  forties  the  spread  of  the  white  population  had  been 
rapid  beyond  all  expectation.  It  was  no  longer  a  question 
of  pushing  the  frontier-line  westward.  Settlements  leaped 
the  line  and  projected  themselves  into  the  very  heart  of 
the  Indian  country.  To  save  the  border  tribes  from  ex- 
tinction, it  seemed  necessary  to  throw  open  wide  tracts  of 
land  as  outlets  for  the  eager  emigrants  ;  and,  in  order 
to  protect  these  emigrants,  to  adopt  a  conciliatory  atti- 
tude toward  the  Indians.  The  Sioux,  numerically  of 
great  strength,  warlike  in  their  instincts,  and  possessing 
a  vast  territory,  became  an  important  factor  in  the  ever 
more  difficult  Indian  question. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  Sioux  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  FROM  1850  TO  1893. 

The  lamentable  condition  of  the  Mississippi  Sioux 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  forties  has  been  described 
in  the  previous  chapter.  The  pressure  of  the  white  pop- 
ulation and  the  inroads  of  the  British  half-breeds  were 
bringing  about  the  rapid  extinction  of  game  ;  and  the 
Indians  were  unsuccessful  in  the  small  amount  of  farm- 
ing which  they  had  attempted.  Starvation  stared  them 
in  the  face.  On  the  other  hand,  it  became  impossible, 
indeed  it  had  always  been  impossible,  to  enforce  the  in- 
tercourse laws,  and  emigrants  were  steadily  encroaching 
upon  Indian  lands.  It  was  imperative  that  something 
be  done  ;  and  in  July  and  August  of  1851  councils  were  * 
held  with  the  Mississippi  Sioux  for  the  cession  of  a  part 
of  their  territor}7.  Two  treaties  were  made  with  them  : 
one  with  the  Sisseton  and  Wahpeton,  the  other  with  the 
Mdewakantonwan  and  Wahpekute  bands.  By  these 
treaties  they  ceded  all  their  lands  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  present  States  of  Iowa  and  Minnesota,  except  a 
comparatively  small  district  on  both  sides  of  the  Minne- 
sota river.*  The  Senate  struck  out  the  latter  provision 
and  added  a  supplemental  article  by  which  the  United 
States  agreed  to  pay  the  said  tribes  ten  cents  per  acre  for 


*  "  All  that  tract  of  country  on  either  side  of  the  Minnesota  river 
from  the  western  boundary  of  the  lands  herein  ceded,  east  to  the.Tchay- 
tam-bay  river  on  the  north,  and  to  the  Yellow  Medicine  river  on  the 
south  side,  to  extend,  on  each  side,  a  distance  not  less  than  ten  miles 
from  the  general  course  of  said  river."  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  X,  949. 


74  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX   INDIANS. 

the  land  in  the  designated  reservation,  and  also  author- 
ized the  President,  in  the  words  of  the  treaty,  to  "  set 
apart  *  *  *  such  tracts  of  country  without  the  lim- 
its of  the  cession  *  *  *  as  may  be  satisfactory  for 
their  future  occupancy  and  home  :  provided,  that  the 
President  may,  by  the  consent  of  these  Indians,  vary  the 
conditions  aforesaid  if  deemed  expedient."* 

The  United  States  promised  to  pay  the  Sisseton  and 
Wahpeton  bands  $1,665,000,  as  follows  :  $275,000  to  be 
paid  to  the  chiefs  for  the  subsistence  of  the  tribes  during 
the  first  year  after  their  removal  ;  $30,000  "  to  be  laid 
out  under  the  direction  of  the  President  for  the  establish- 
ment of  manual-labor  schools,  the  erection  of  mills  and 
blacksmiths'  shops,  opening  of  farms,  fencing  and  break- 
ing land,  and  for  *  *  *  other  beneficial  objects  *  * 
*  conducive  to  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  said  In- 
dians ; "  the  remainder,  $1,360,000,  to  be  held  in  trust  by 
the  United  States  and  to  draw  an  annual  interest  of  five 
per  cent,  for  fifty  years.  This  interest  was  to  be  applied 
thus  :  $12,000  to  be  set  apart  as  a  "  general  agricultural 
improvement  and  civilization  fund  ; "  $6,000  to  be  used 
for  educational  purposes  ;  $10,000  to  be  spent  in  the 
purchase  of  goods  and  provisions  ;  and  $40,000  to  be  paid 
as  a  money  annuity. f 

The  Mdewakantonwan  and  Wahpekute  bands  received 
$1,410,000,  to  be  applied  in  substantially  the  same  way.J 

*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  X,  952. 

t  Ibid.,  949-950. 

i  $220,000  to  be  paid  to  the  chiefs  for  the  subsistence  of  the.  tribe 
one  year  after  removal  ;  $30,000  to  be  spent  for  manual-labor  schools, 
etc. ;  $1,160,000  to  be  set  apart  as  a  trust  fund,  and  to  draw  an  annual 
interest  of  live  per  cent,  for  fifty  years,  interest  to  be  applied  as  follows  : 
$12,000  to  be  set  apart  as  a  civilization  fund  ;  $6,000  to  be  used  for  edu- 
cational purposes  ;  $10,000  to  be  spent  for  goods  and  provisions;  $30,000 
to  be  paid  as  a  money  annuity.  U.  S.  Statutes  at  L»rge,  X,  954-59. 


THE    SIOUX    FROM    1850   TO    1893. 

Before  the  treaties  had  been  ratified  the  whites  who 
had  been  hovering  on  the  borders  poured  into  the  coun- 
try, thus  demonstrating  once  more  the  inefficiency  of  the 
intercourse  laws.  The  Indians  were  obliged  to  remain 
on  the  ceded  lands,  for  the  President  had  not  yet  as- 
signed them  a  reservation.  Inevitable  confusion  resulted, 
and  for  the  sake  of  both  whites  and  Indians  it  became 
necessary  to  move  the  latter.  The  President  then  as- 
signed to  them  for  five  years  the  reservation  which  was 
to  have  been  theirs  by  the  treaty  of  1851.  But  the  In- 
dians were  much  dissatisfied  and  little  inclined  to  settle 
down  to  agriculture.  They  felt  that  it  would  be  a  waste 
of  money  to  improve  land  which  was  to  be  theirs  only  a 
short  time.  They  begged  that  the  reservation  be  secured 
to  them  as  a  permanent  home,  and  this  was  finally  done 
in  1854.* 

The  treatment  of  the  Sioux  during  these  years  is  a 
striking  instance  of  the  short-sighted,  wavering,  and  in- 
consistent policy  of  the  Government.  The  Sioux  were 
to  devote  themselves  to  agriculture,  but  they  were  in- 
duced to  cede  that  part  of  their  territory  best  suited  to 
this  purpose,  and  after  much  delay  settled  upon  a  com- 
paratively poor  reservation.  They  needed  instruction  in 
the  art  of  agriculture  ;  they  needed  tools  and  cattle  ;  but 
provision  was  made  to  apply  hardly  more  than  one-half 


*  The  act  of  July  31,  1854,  authorized  the  President  "  to  confirm  to 
the  Sioux  of  Minnesota  forever  the  reserve  on  the  Minnesota  river  now 
occupied  by  them,  upon  such  conditions  as  he  may  deem  just."  U.  S. 
Statutes  at  Large,  X,  326.  This  confirmation  was  never  formally  made. 
U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XII,  1038.  But  the  Indians  were  assured  that 
they  might  consider  the  reserve  their  permanent  home.  Report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1854-5  :  Sen.  Docs.,  33d  Cong.,  2nd 
Sess.,  272. 


76  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

of  their  interest  annuity  to  these  ends,  and  the  money  so 
applied  was  neither  promptly  nor  entirely  nor  carefully 
spent.  The  annuities  were  allowed  to  fall  into  arrears, 
and  especially  those  portions  upon  whose  wise  expendi- 
ture the  progress  of  the  Indians  in  agriculture  depended. 
Few  farmers  were  provided,  and  these  were  seldom  com- 
petent ;  while  the  tools  were  often  of  the  poorest  grade 
or  inappropriate.*  Thus  the  introduction  of  the  Sioux  to 
their  new  life  was  not  propitious.  They  made  little 
progress  and  felt  keenly  the  difference  between  their  for- 
mer freedom  and  their  present  dependence.  This  was 
the  condition  of  affairs  at  the  time  of  the  Spirit  Lake 
massacres.  And  it  was  the  well-known  discontent  of  the 
Sioux  which  led  many  to  believe  that  they,  as  a  nation, 
were  concerned  in  this  most  unfortunate  occurrence. 

In  the  early  forties  the  Wahpekute  band  was  under  the 
leadership  of  two  chiefs,  one  of  them,  Wamdisapa  by 
name,  of  notoriously  ill-repute.  Peace  had  been  made  be- 
tween the  Sac  and  Fox  tribe  and  the  Sioux  ;  but  Wam- 
disapa and  his  followers  still  continued  hostile,  and, 
moving  westward,  were  gradually  separated  from  the  rest 
of  the  Wahpekute  band.  When  the  treaty  of  1851  was 
made,  by  which  the  Sioux  of  the  Mississippi  ceded  a  large 


"  Have  the  officers  under  the  President  applied  those  funds  so  ap- 
propriated in  the  manner  stipulated  by  the  treaties  ?  I  can  distinctly 
say,  no  !  The  treaties  say  these  funds  shall  be  annually  expended, 
whereas  large  amounts  have  been  kept  back,  and  are  now  in  arrear,  and 
after  repeated  applications  to  have  them  expended.  These  arrears  are 
not  mere  petty  sums,  surplusses  or  remnants  of  funds  remaining  unex- 
pended, but  large  amounts,  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  and  in 
some  cases  the  whole  fund  appropriated  for  a  special  purpose."  Keport 
of  P.  Prescott,  Superintendent  farming  for  Sioux :  Report  of  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs  for  1856-7,  p.  606  :  Ex.  Docs.,  34th  Cong.,  3d 
Sess.,  Vol.  I,  Pt.  I. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO    1893.  77 


territory,  this  remnant  of  Wamdisapa's  band  was  not  rec- 
ognized as  a  part  of  the  Wahpekute  Sioux  and  took  no 
part  in  the  treaty.  Later,  when  the  annuities  were  being 
paid,  some  of  these  Indians  appeared  at  the  agency  and 
insisted  upon  a  share.  By  1857  the  band,  now  under 
Inkpaduta,  consisted  of  only  about  half  a  dozen  lodges, 
but  still  retained  its  lawless  and  predatory  habits.  It  was 
this  straggling  band  that  committed  the  massacres  of 
Spirit  Lake  and  Springfield  in  March,  1857,  killing 
about  forty-two  persons.  As  soon  as  the  news  reached 
the  agency  efforts  were  made  to  overtake  and  punish  the 
murderers,  but  these  efforts  were  unsuccessful.  The  Mis- 
sissippi Sioux  were  then  called  together  and  told  that 
their  annuities  should  cease  until  the  murderers,  their 
relatives,  should  have  been  brought  to  justice  ;  and  were 
required  to  send  out  a  party  in  search  of  them.  This  the 
Sioux  at  first  declined  to  do  unless  accompanied  by 
United  States  troops.  They  yielded  the  point,  however, 
and  sent  out  an  expedition  to  seek  the  murderers.  But 
by  this  time  Inkpaduta's  band  had  divided  and  the  Sioux 
party  overtook  only  a  portion  of  it,  killing  three  warriors 
and  mortally  wounding  one.  Feeling  that  they  had  done 
their  duty  they  returned  home,  and  the  Government  re- 
sumed the  payment  of  annuities.* 

There  was  a  general  feeling  throughout  the  country  at 
this  time  that  we  were  on  the  brink  of  a  Sioux  war.  It 
is  true  that  on  one  occasion  a  hostile  demonstration  was 
made  by  the  Indians. \  But  the  assertion  that  the 

*  For  a  short,  clear  account  of  the  Inkpaduta  War,  see  Minn.  Hist. 
Colls.,  Ill,  386  ff.  See  also  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
for  1857-8.  pp.  357-9:  Ex.  Docs.,  35th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Vol.  II,  Ft.  I. 

t  See  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1857-8,  p.  388-9  : 
Ex.  Docs.,  35th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Vol.  II,  Pt.  I. 


78  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

Mississippi  Sioux  as  a  nation  were  in  sympathy  with  Ink- 
paduta  is  utterly  without  foundation.*  The  tribal  bonds 
of  these  people  were  very  weak  and  their  kinship  with 
Inkpaduta  was  a  matter  of  no  importance  to  them.  But, 
aside  from  its  intrinsic  character,  the  massacre  was  un- 
fortunate as  adding  another  element  to  the  already  dis- 
turbed condition  of  these  Sioux. 

By  the  act  of  July  31,  1854,f  the  President  had  been 
authorized  to  confirm  to  the  Minnesota  Sioux  the  reser- 
vation upon  which  they  were  then  situated.  This  con- 
firmation was  never  formally  made,  but  was  practically 
taken  for  granted  in  the  treaties  of  1858. J  There  were 
two  of  these  :  one  with  the  Lower,  the  other  with  the 
Upper  Sioux  ;§  and  both  provided  for  the  reduction  of 
this  reservation  and  the  assignment  of  land  in  severalty. 
More  specifically,  as  by  treaty  with  the  Upper  Sioux  July 
19,  1858,  the  terms  were  these  : 

Article  I  provided  that  so  much  of  the  reserve  upon 
which  the  Indians  were  then  situated  as  lay  south  of  the 
Minnesota  river  should  constitute  a  reservation  for  the 
said  bands  ;  should  be  surveyed  and  allotted  in  severalty, 
eighty  acres  to  each  head  of  a  family  or  single  person 
over  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  ;  the  residue  should  be 
held  by  the  bands  in  common  ;  each  minor,  however 


*  The  most  that  can  be  said  is  that  a  few  of  the  younger  braves  and 
those  influenced  by  the  Yanktons,  who  felt  that  their  land  rights  had 
been  overlooked  in  the  treaties  of  1851,  sympathized  with  Inkpaduta. 
Ibid.,  359. 

t  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  X,  326. 
$  Ibid.,  XII,  1038. 

§  The  Lower  Sioux  comprised  the  Mdewakantonwan  and  Wahpe- 
kute,  the  Upper  Sioux  the  Sisseton  and  Wahpeton  bands. 


THE    SIOUX    FROM    1850   TO    1893.  79 

upon  attaining  majority  should  be  given  eighty  acres 
thereof.  This  same  article  authorized  the  President  at 
his  discretion  to  issue  patents  for  these  allotments  and  to 
exempt  them  "  from  levy,  taxation,  sale,  or  forfeiture 
until  otherwise  provided  for  by  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  in  which  they  "  were  "  situated,  with  the  assent  of 
Congress." 

Article  II  provided  that,  if  the  Senate  agreed,  a  specific 
sum  should  be  allowed  these  Indians  for  the  land  north 
of  the  Minnesota  river  ;  or  this  land  should  be  sold  for 
their  benefit,  they  to  receive  the  proceeds  of  the  sale.* 

Article  VIII  provided  that  such  -members  of  the  Sisse- 
ton  and  Wahpeton  bands  as  should  desire  to  break  their 
tribal  connections  and  locate  outside  of  the  reservation 
should  be  allowed  to  do  so,  and  should  "  be  vested  with 
all  the  rights,  privileges,  and  immunities,  and  be  subject 
to  all  the  laws,  obligations,  and  duties,  of  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States."f 


*  "The  United  States  subsequently,  by  resolution,  fixed  the  price  at 
thirty  cents  per  acre.  This  yielded  to  the  lower  bands  about  $96,000j 
and  to  the  upper  about  $240,000."  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  for  1863-4,  p.  400 :  Report  of  the  Sec.  of  the  In.,  38th  Cong.,  1st 
Sess.,  Vol.  III. 

t  There  were  six  other  articles.  Article  III  provided  that  if  the 
Indians  received  payment  for  the  lands  north  of  the  Minnesota  river 
such  a  sum  as  should  be  found  necessary,  not,  however,  to  exceed 
$70,000,  should  be  set  aside  to  pay  their  just  debts  and  to  provide  goods 
for  them. 

Article  IV  provided  that  all  Indian  intercourse  laws  be  in  force  over 
the  land  retained  under  Article  I. 

Article  V  gave  the  United  States  the  right  to  maintain  military  posts 
and  construct  roads  on  the  reservation,  due  compensation  being  made. 

Article  VI  provided  for  the  preservation  of  peace  between  the 
United  States  and  the  said  bands. 


RELATIONS   WITH   THE   SIOOX   INDIANS. 

These  treaties  are  good  exponents  of  the  national  policy 
of  these  years      The  reservation  of  the  Sioux  was  no 
larger  than  the  needs  of  an  agricultural  life  justified 
provision  was  made  for  the  allotment  of  land  in  severalty  •' 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  was  given  «  discretion!' 
power  m  regard  to  the  manner  and  objects  of  the  annual 
expenditure  "of  the  money  due  the  bands  by  forme 
treaties  and  to  become  due  by  this. 

The   immediate   causes   of  these    treaties    were    two 
First,  the  white  population  of  Minnesota  was  increasing 
so  rapidly  that  already  the  need  of  more  land  was  felt 
second,  there  was  a  real  desire  on  the  part  of  the  Gov- 
ernment  to   advance   the   welfare   of   these   bands  who 
3emed  now  ready  for  an  agricultural  life.     Of  these  two 
causes,  ,t  cannot  be  denied  that  the  first  was  of  para 
mount  importance.     To  this  conclusion  we  are  forced  by" 
that  the  Government's  interest  in  the  welfare  of 
these  Indians  was  not  strong  enough  to  impel  it  to  fulfill 
its  obligations  toward  them.     The  old  trouble  continued 
The  annuities  were  in  arrears.     The  goods  sent  were  of 
inferior  quality  and  not  of  the  kind  most  needed.    Despite 
these  drawbacks  however,  the  Indians  progressed,  and  by 
0  it  was  possible  to  divide  them  into  two  classes-far- 
mer  and  blanket  Indians.     The   farmer   Indians   were 


U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XII,  1037-41 


THE    SIOUX   FROM   1850   TO   1893.  81 

those  who  were  devoting  themselves  to  agriculture 
and  were  adopting,  to  some  extent,  the  habits  and  cus- 
toms of  a  white  community  ;  the  blanket  Indians,  those 
who  still  clung  to  the  old  savage  life.  It  lay  in  the 
nature  of  the  case  that  these  two  classes  should  be 
strongly  antagonistic.  It  was  a  struggle  between  barbar- 
ism and  civilization.  The  policy  of  the  Government 
aimed  at  civilization,  and,  as  far  as  it  went,  was  well  suited 
to  that  end.  Land  in  severalty  and  education  were  to 
bring  home  to  the  Sioux  a  sense  of  individual  responsi- 
bility. But  no  provision  was  made  for  the  protection  of 
the  civilized  from  the  blanket  Indian.  The  latter  was 
left  even  freer  than  he  had  been  before,  for  the  power  of 
the  chief  over  him  was  weakened  and  its  place  supplied 
by  no  other  restraint.  Except  for  inefficient  intercourse 
laws,  the  Government  thus  left  uncontrolled  an  element 
whose  pleasure  it  would  be  to  strike  a  blow  at  civilization 
at  the  first  opportunity. 

There  were  still  other  unfortunate  circumstances.  Al- 
most from  the  first  there  had  been  a  continual  wrangling 
over  the  treaties  of  1858.  While  they  were  being  drawn 
up,  the  Sioux  had  been  led  to  expect  that  they  would 
receive  a  certain  sum  of  money  in  cash.  In  this  they 
were  misinformed,  for  the  treaties  contained  no  such  pro- 
vision ;  but  to  them  the  spoken  word  was  as  sacred  as  the 
written.  There  was  another  misunderstanding  which 
concerned  the  amount  to  be  used  in  payment  for  depre- 
dations. The  Lower  Sioux  fund  and  about  two-thirds  of 
Upper  Sioux  fund  were  exhausted  to  pay  the  debts  of  the 
Indians,*  although  each  of  the  treaties  stipulated  that  not 

*  Report  'of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1863-4,  p.  400  : 
Report  of  the  Sec.  of  the  In.,  38th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Vol.  III. 


82  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

more  than  seventy  thousand  dollars  should  be  used  for 
this  purpose.  Add  to  this  the  fact  that  the  annuities 
were  not  promptly  paid,*  and  we  can  readily  understand 
that  the  Sioux  felt  themselves  ill-treated.  Moreover,  the 
Civil  War  was  going  on,  and  the  Indians  were  made  rest- 
less and  uneasy  by  all  sorts  of  exaggerated  stories  of  the 
pending  fall  of  the  Government.  Their  faith  in  the 
strength  and  dignity  of  their  "  Great  Father  "  received  a 
shock,  and  they  felt  that  their  support  rested  upon  an 
unstable  basis.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  stray 
secessionists  fostered  this  feeling  ;  and  the  British  half- 
breeds  of  the  North  not  only  sympathized  with  the  Indians 
but  stood  ready  to  furnish  them  with  guns,  powder,  and 
•ammunition. 

The  spark  which  lighted  this  inflammable  material  was 
the  murder  of  six  whites,  committed  by  fourteen  intoxi- 
cated Lower  Sioux,  August  17, 1862.  Feeling  that  unless 
there  was  a  general  uprising  they  would  be  pursued  and 
individually  punished,  the  murderers  hastened  to  their 
kinsmen  and  urged  them  to  take  up  arms.  By  the  next 
morning  they  had  increased  their  party  to  two  hundred, 
;and  now  proceeded  to  the  Lower  Agency,  sending  runners 
ahead  with  the  message  that  all  who  did  not  join  them 
should  be  punished  with  death.  Many  of  the  farmer  In- 
dians were  thus  practically  forced  to  take  part.  Little 
Orow  became  leader  and  the  work  of  devastation  began. 
It  is  estimated  that  nearly  one  thousand  whites  lost  their 
lives  in  the  massacres  which  now  took  place. 

*  The  financial  straits  occasioned  by  the  Civil  War  may  serve,  at 
least  in  part,  to  exonerate  the  Government  from  blame.  The  delay  was 
only  four  or  five  weeks,  and  there  was  no  fixed  time  for  the  payment  of 
*the  Sioux  annuities.  They  had,  however,  been  paid  in  July,  the  year 
^before,  and  the  Indians  naturally  expected  them  in  the  same  month. 


THE   SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO    1893.  83 

Major  General  Sibley  was  dispatched  to  quell  the  out- 
break, and  about  seventeen  hundred  persons  either  sur- 
rendered to  him  or  were  captured  by  him.  A  large  num- 
ber of  the  warriors  were  tried  by  a  military  commission 
and  sentenced  to  death.  Of  these  thirty-nine  were  hanged, 
an  attempt  having  been  made  to  select  those  who  had 
personally  committed  acts  of  violence.  The  remainder  of 
those  who  had  surrendered,  together  with  some  of  the  peace- 
ably disposed  Sioux,  were  removed  to  Crow  Creek,  May, 
1863.*  A  small  number  of  those  who  had  continued 
faithful  to  the  Government  remained  in  Minnesota. 
About  two  hundred  of  the  Sioux  were  held  as  prisoners 
of  war  at  Davenport.  About  six  or  eight  hundred,  who 
claimed  that  they  had  taken  no  part  in  the  massacres  but 
had  fled  from  Minnesota  to  avoid  the  indiscriminate 
vengeance  of  the  whites,  were  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort 
Wadsworth,  Dakota.  The  remainder,  made  up  largely 
of  the  really  hostile  Indians  and  those  who  had  commit- 
ted crimes  and  feared  the  punishment  of  the  Govern- 
ment, had  taken  refuge  far  to  the  north  in  or  near  the 
British  Possessions.  These,  together  with  some  of  the 
Missouri  Sioux  who  had  joined  them  for  reasons  that 
will  be  stated  in  the  next  chapter,  continued  hostile  for 
many  years,  and,  though  not  actively  engaged  in  warfare 
during  the  whole  time,  were  not  subdued  until  the 
seventies. 

The  selection  of  the  Crow  Creek  reservation  proved 
most  unfortunate.  It  was  not  adapted  to  the  purpose  of 


*  These  Sioux  were  nearly  all  women  and  children,  there  being  only 
about  one  hundred  able-bodied  men.  The  Crow  Creek  reservation  was 
selected  under  authority  of  the  act  of  March  3,  1863:  U.  S.  Statutes  at 
Large,  XII,  819-20. 


84  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

agriculture,  and  for  three  successive  years  the  crops  failed. 
In  1866  these  Indians  were  moved  to  Niobrara,  where 
they  were  joined  by  those  who  had  been  held  as  prisoners 
at  Davenport.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year  they  were 
moved  to  the  mouth  of  Bazile  creek,  and  in  1868  to 
Breckinridge,  ten  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Niobrara.* 

The  condition  of  the  Indians  during  these  years  was 
very  wretched.  The  act  of  February  16,  1863,f  had  an- 
nulled all  treaties  previously  made  with  them  so  far  as 
these  treaties  purported  "to  impose  any  future  obligation 
on  the  United  States."  The  annuities  and  claims  of  the 
Mississippi  Sioux  were  thus  declared  forfeited.  The  act 
of  March  3,  1863, J  had  authorized  the  President  to  set 
apart  for  them  "  a  tract  of  unoccupied  land  outside  of  the 
limits  of  any  State,  sufficient  in  extent  to  enable  him  to 
assign  to  each  member  *  *  *  eighty  acres  of  good 
agricultural  lands."  But  five  years  elapsed  before  the 
Indians  were  settled  upon  a  reservation,  and  during  this 
period  they  were  moved  four  times.  All  of  these  remov- 
als were  attended  with  the  greatest  hardships  and  suffer- 
ings^ 

Meanwhile  these  Indians,  from  this  time  on  generally 


*  This  reserve  had  been  set  apart  for  their  use  by  President  Johnson 
under  the  Executive  Orders  of  February  27, 1866,  and  November  16, 1867: 
Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1886,  p.  340. 

t  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XII,  652. 

i 
J  Ibid.,  819.     This  same  act  provided  for  the  sale  of  the  Minnesota 

reservation  and  the  expenditure  of  the  proceeds  for  the  benefit  of  the  In- 
dians in  their  new  homes;  but  such  sale  could  not  take  place  imme- 
diately. 

§  For  a  description  of  the  terrible  suffering  attending  these  removals, 
see  Many  penny,  Our  Indian  Wards,  135  ff.  The  picture  may  be  some- 
what overdrawn,  but  it  is  substantially  true. 


THE   SIOUX    FROM    1850   TO    1803.  85 

called  the  Santee  Sioux,  were  wholly  dependent  upon  the 
bounty  of  the  Government.  The  fact  that  they  had  no 
treaty  relations  with  the  United  States  made  them  feel 
insecure,  and  they  begged  that  an  agreement  of  some 
kind  be  made  with  them.  This  was  done  April  29, 1868.* 
The  treaty  provided  for  the  allotment  of  land  in  several- 
ty,  for  the  compulsory  education  of  all  children  between 
the  ages  of  six  and  sixteen,  and  the  employment  of  a 
teacher  for  every  thirty  of  such  children,  and  for  the  dis- 
tribution of  certain  goods.f 

Allotments  were  now  made  these  Indians  both  under 
the  act  of  March  3,  1863,  and  the  treaty  of  April  29, 
1868.  Patents  were  not  issued  for  the  allotments  and 
the  allottees  did  not  become  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
Later,  by  the  act  making  appropriations  for  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30,  1884,]:  the  patents  to  the  land  allotted 
under  the  treaty  of  1868  were  declared  of  legal  effect  ; 
and  the  United  States  promised  to  hold  the  land  in  trust 
for  twenty-five  years,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  to  deliv- 
er it  to  the  Indians  or  their  heirs  "  free  of  all  charge  or 
incumbrance." 

By  the  act  of  February  9, 1885,§  the  Santee  reservation 
was  thrown  open  to  settlement. 

By  Section  7  of  the  act  of  March  2,  1889, ||  all  allot- 
ments made  to  the  Santee  Sioux  in  Nebraska  were  coii- 


*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  635-640. 

t  The  provisions  of  this  treaty  are  given  at  length  in  connection  with 
the  Sioux  of  the  Plains.     See  Chapter  IV. 

i  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XXII,  433. 

§  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1886,  p.  342. 

U  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1889,  p.  450. 


86  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

firmed  ;  and  it  was  provided  that  those  who  had  not 
received  allotments  should  be  given  them  upon  the  re- 
serve in  Nebraska  as  follows  :  "  To  each  head  of  a  family, 
one-quarter  of  a  section  ;  to  each  single  person  over  eigh- 
teen years  of  age,  one-eighth  of  a  section  ;  to  each  orphan 
child  under  eighteen  years  of  age,  one-eighth  of  a  section  ; 
to  each  other  person  under  eighteen  years  of  age  now  liv^ 
ing,  one-sixteenth  of  a  section." 

Thus  all  the  Santee  Sioux  on  the  reserve  in  Nebraska 
were  provided  with  land. 

A  word  now  about  a  portion  of  these  Sioux  not  located 
on  the  reserve.  Between  1868  and  1875  about  eighty-five 
families  took  up  homesteads  under  the  concluding  para- 
graph of  Article  VI  of  the  treaty  of  1868,*  forty-six  miles 
north  of  Sioux  Falls,  Dakota,  on  the  Big  Sioux  river. 
They,  of  course,  became  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  were  subject  to  and  protected  by  the  laws  of  the 
United  States.  But  on  taking  lands  the  Indians  were 
obliged  to  renounce  all  claims  for  annuities.!  They  had 

*  This  provided  that  any  male  over  eighteen  years  of  age,  party  to 
this  treaty,  who  should  settle  upon  land  outside  of  the  reservation  and 
open  to  Indian  occupation,  occupy  the  same  for  three  successive  years 
and  make  improvements  thereon  to  the  value  of  two  hundred  dollars, 
should  receive  a  patent  for  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  and  become  a 
citizen  of  the  United  States. 

t  It  has  been  suggested  that  this  unjust  requirement  of  the  Indian 
Department  was  based  on  the  refusal  of  the  House  to  sanction  the  treaty 
of  1868.  I  quote  Mr.  Paine's  words  to  the  House  :  "  Let  us  never  again 
recognize  any  constitutional  right  on  the  part  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  to  ne- 
gotiate a  treaty  with  an  Indian  tribe,  as  a  sovereign  power,  as  a  foreign 
nation.  If  it  be  a  contract  of  valid  moral  obligation,  let  us  fulfill  it ;  but 
let  us  never  again,  by  any  legislation  to  which  this  House  shall  give  its 
consent,  sanctify  it  as  a  treaty  between  sovereign  powers. 

"  Now,  if  these  Indians  referred  to  in  the  Senate  amendment  have 


THE    SIOUX    FROM    1850   TO    1893.  8T 

hard  time  of  it  for  three  or  four  years.  Then  the  Gov- 
ernment came  to  their  aid  and  generously  assisted  them. 
They  received  also  their  just  share  of  the  proceeds  from 
the  sale  of  the  Minnesota  reservation. 

All  of  the  Santee  Sioux  made  great  progress.  They 
applied  themselves  to  agriculture  and  succeeded  well. 
For  a  time  the  United  States  assisted  them  with  liberal 
appropriations,  hut  these  were  gradually  diminished  as- 
the  Indians  became  self-supporting.  At  present  only  the 
aged  and  infirm  receive  rations.  The  Indian  question,, 
so  far  as  the  Santee  Sioux  are  concerned,  has  been  set- 
tled. 

After  the  massacres  of  1862,  six  or  eight  hundred  Sis- 
seton  and  Wahpeton  Sioux  had  fled  to  avoid  quick  ven- 
geance at  the  hands  of  the  whites.  Many  were  really 
innocent  and  had  voluntarily  surrendered  to  General 
Sibley.  These  were  located  near  Fort  Wadsworth. 
Others  of  the  Sisseton  and  Wahpeton  Sioux  had  remained 
in  the  vicinity  of  their  Minnesota  reservation,  preserving 
their  treaty  relations  with  the  United  States,  and  doing- 
much  to  protect  the  whites  from  the  hostile  bands.  With 
these  two  classes  the  Government  made  a  treaty  Febru- 
ary 19,  1867.*  The  chief  provisions  of  this  treaty,  as- 
amended  by  the  Senate,  were  as  follows  : 

Article  II  gave  "  the  United  States  the  right  to  con- 
struct wagon-roads,  railroads,  mail  stations,  telegraph 

any  just  claim  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  let  us  pay 
it  folly ;  but  let  us  not  consent  to  this  Senate  amendment,  which  requires 
us  to  make  this  appropriation  because  in  1867  and  in  1869  the  President 
and  the  Senate  agreed  by  treaty  to  do  it."  Congressional  Globe,  41st 
Cong.,  2d  Sess.,  Pt.  6,  p.  5008. 

*U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  505-11;   Ratification  advised  with 
amendments  April  15, 1867;  Amendments  accepted  April  22,  1867. 


88  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

lines,  and  *  *  *  other  public  improvements "  over 
the  lands  claimed  by  these  Indians,*  including  their 
reservation,  as  afterwards  designated. 

Article  III  provided  that  a  certain  tract  of  land  in  the 
central  eastern  part  of  Dakotaf  be  set  aside  for  those 
members  of  the  bands  who  had  surrendered  to  the  Gov- 
ernment and  had  not  been  sent  to  Crow  Creek,  and  for 
those  who  had  been  released  from  prison  in  1866. 

Article  IV  provided  that  a  certain  tract  of  land  in  the 
northern  part  of  Dakota}  be  set  apart  for  all  other  mem- 
bers of  the  said  bands  who  had  not  been  sent  to  Crow 
Creek,  and  also  for  the  Cuthead  band  of  Yanktonnais 
Sioux. 

Article  V  provided  that  the  two  reservations  "  be  ap- 
portioned in  tracts  of  (160)  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
to  each  head  of  a  family,  or  single  person  over  the  age  of 
(21)  twenty-one  years";  and  that  every  person  who 


*  "  Said  lands  so  claimed  being  bounded  on  the  south  and  east  by 
the  treaty  line  of  1851  and  the  Ked  river  of  the  North  to  the  inouth  of 
Goose  river,  on  the  north  by  the  Goose  river  and  a  line  running  from 
the  source  thereof  by  the  most  easterly  point  of  Devil's  lake  to  the 
Chief's  Bluff  at  the  head  of  James  river,  and  on  the  west  by  the  James 
river,  and  thence  to  Kampeska  lake."  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  506. 

t  "  Beginning  at  the  head  of  Lake  Traverse  [E],  and  thence  along 
the  treaty  line  of  the  treaty  of  1851  to  Kampeska  lake  ;  thence  in  a 
direct  line  to  Reipan  or  the  northeast  point  of  the  Cateare  des  Prairie 
[S],  and  thence  passing  north  of  Skunk  lake,  on  the  most  direct  line  of 
1851  to  the  place  of  beginning."  Ibid.  See  second  map. 

$  "Beginning  at  the  most  easterly  point  of  Devil's  lake;  thence 
along  the  waters  of  said  lake  to  the  most  westerly  point  of  the  same  ; 
thence  on  a  direct  line  to  the  nearest  point  on  the  Cheyenne  river  ; 
thence  down  said  river  to  a  point  opposite  the  lower  end  of  Aspen  island, 
and  thence  on  a  direct  line  to  the  place  of  beginning."  U.  S.  Statutes 
at  Large,  XV,  506.  See  second  map. 


THE   SIOUX    FROM    1850   TO    1893.  89 


should  receive  an  allotment  and  should  "  occupy  and 
cultivate  a  portion  thereof  for  five  consecutive  years  * 
*  *  be  entitled  to  receive  a  patent  for  the  same  "  so 
soon  as  he  should  have  fifty  acres  "  fenced,  ploughed, 
and  in  crop  "  :  provided  that  such  a  patent  should  not 
authorize  any  transfer  of  any  portion  of  the  land  except 
to  the  United  States  ;  but  the  lands  should  "  descend  to 
the  proper  heirs  of  the  person  obtaining  a  patent."* 

Article  VI  provided  that  Congress  should,  "  at  its  own 
discretion,  from  time  to  time,  make  such  appropriations" 
as  should  be  deemed  "  requisite  to  enable  said  Indians 
to  return  to  an  agricultural  life."f 

Article  VII  provided  that  an  agent  be  immediately 
located  at  Lake  Traverse  and  one  at  Devil's  lake  so  soon 
as  five  hundred  persons  be  settled  there. 

Article  VIII  provided  that  "  no  goods,  provisions, 
groceries,  or  other  articles — except  materials  for  the 
erection  of  houses  and  articles  to  facilitate  the  operations 
of  agriculture —  *  *  *  be  issued  *  *  *  unless  it 
be  in  payment  of  labor  performed,  or  for  produce  deliv- 
ered."} 

Article  IX  provided  that  "  no  person  be  authorized  to 
trade  for  furs  or  peltries  within  the  limits  of  the  land 
claimed  by  said  bands  *  *  *  and  that  no  person, 
not  a  member  of  said  bands,  *  *  *  except  persons 
in  the  employ  of  the  Government,  or  located  under  its 
authority,  *  *  *  be  permitted  to  locate  upon  said 


*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  506. 
t  Ibid. ,  507. 


90  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

lands  either  for  hunting,  trapping,  or  agricultural  pur- 
poses."* 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this  treaty  these 
Indians  were  located  on  two  reservations  :  one  at  Devil's 
lake,  covering  approximately  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  thousand  acres  of  good  prairie  land,  the  other  at 
Lake  Traverse  and  containing  about  nine  hundred  and 
eighteen  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of 
equally  good  land.  Here  they  began  once  more  an  agri- 
cultural life  and  became  the  best  exponents  of  the  gov- 
ernmental policy  of  the  ensuing  years.  Land  was  allotted 
them  in  severalty  and  annuities  paid,  as  a  rule,  only  for 
work  done.  The  Indians  progressed  rapidly  ;  and  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  this  was  largely  due  to  the  earnest 
efforts  of  the  American  Board  and  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Missions.  This  feature  of  President  Grant's 
peace  policy  worked  admirably  here. 

September  20, 1872,  an  agreement  was  made  with  the 
Lake  Traverse  and  Devil's  Lake  Indians,  by  which  they 
ceded  any  right  which  they  might  possess  to  the  land 
referred  to  in  the  second  article  of  the  treaty  of  1867. 
This  agreement,  as  amended  by  the  Senate  and  ratified! 


*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  507. 

There  were  two  other  articles. 

Article  I  provided'for  the  continuation  of  friendly  relations  between 
the  United  States  and  the  said  bands. 

Article  X  authorized  the  chiefs  and  head  men  to  adopt  such  rules  as 
seemed  best  to  them  "  for  the  security  of  life  and  property,  the  advance- 
ment of  civilization  and  the  agricultural  prosperity  of  the  members  of 
said  bands,  and  to  organize  a  force  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  same  and 
of  such  regulations  as  might  be  prescribed  by  the  Interior  Department." 
U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  507. 

t  May  195  1873. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO    1893.  91 

by  the  Sioux,  was  confirmed  in  the  Indian  Appropriation 
Act  of  June  22, 1874.*  In  consideration  of  their  cession 
the  bands  received  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars,  to  be 
paid  in  ten  annual  installments,  and  "  to  be  expended, 
under  the  direction  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
on  the  plan  and  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of* the 
treaty,  dated  February  19,  1867,  for  goods  and  provi- 
sions ;  for  the  erection  of  manual-labor  and  public 
schoolhouses,  and  for  the  support  of  manual-labor  and 
public  schools ;  and  in  the  erection  of  mills,  black- 
smiths' shops,  and  other  workshops  *  *  *  and  such 
other  beneficial  objects  as  may  be  deemed  most  condu- 
cive to  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  the  Sisseton  and 
Wahpeton  bands. "f 

Nearly  seventeen  years  elapsed  before  the  Sioux 
entered  into  the  next  agreement  with  the  United 
States.  This  time  it  was  for  the  reduction  of  their  reser- 
vation as  provided  in  the  fifth  section  of  the  Land  in 
Severalty  Bill.  All  the  Indians  on  the  Lake  Traverse 
reservation  having  received  allotments,  it  was  thought 
best  to  throw  open  the  unallotted  lands  to  white  settlers. 
Accordingly  an  agreement  was  made  with  these  Sioux 
December  12,  1889,  which  was  ratified  March  3,  1891.J 
This  agreement  provided  that  there  should  be  allotted  to 
each  individual  member  of  the  bands  such  a  quantity 
of  land  as  would  make,  together  with  that  already 


*  For  the  agreement  as  originally  made,  see  Report  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs  for  1872,  122-3.  The  Senate  amended  this  by 
striking  out  the  paragraphs  numbered,  respectively,  third,  fourth,  fifth, 
sixth,  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth. 

t  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1872,  p.  122. 
t  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XXVI,  1035-8. 


92  i         RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

allotted,  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  ;  and,  in  case  no 
allotment  had  been  made  to  any  individual,  then  such  an 
one  should  receive  an  allotment  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres.  The  object  of  this  provision  was  to  equalize 
the  allotments  so  that  each  member  of  the  bands,  includ- 
ing'married  women,  might  have  the  same  amount  of 
land.*  All  were  to  have  patents  issued  to  them  upon  the 
"  terms  and  conditions  "  of  the  Land  in  Severalty  Bill. 

The  Indians  ceded  the  land,  which  should  be  left 
when  the  above  provision  should  be  carried  into  effect, 
to  the  United  States  for  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  an 
acre.  This  money  was  to  be  held  in  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States  for  the  sole  use  of  the  Sioux,  was  to 
draw  three  per  cent,  interest,  and  was  "  to  be  at  all  times 
subject  to  appropriation  by  Congress  for  the  education 
and  civilization  of  the  said  bands. "f 

The  third  article  of  this  agreement  provided  that  the 
sum  of  $342,778.37  be  paid  the  Indians,  as  "  being  the 
amount  *  *  *  due  certain  members  *  *  *  who 
served  in  the  armies  of  the  United  States  against  their 
own  people "  in  the  war  of  1862,  "  and  of  which  they 
had  been  wrongfully  and  unjustly  deprived  "  by  the  act 
of  February  16,  1863. \  It  was  further  agreed  to  pay 


*  This  was  also  the  object  of  the  act  of  February  28,  1891,  which 
amended  the  General  Allotment  Act  so  as  to  provide  for  the  same  allot- 
ment of  land  to  each  member  of  the  tribe,  regardless  of  his  age  or  status. 

+  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XXVI,  1036. 

$  See  IT.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XII,  652.  This  act  annulled  the 
treaties  made  with  these  bands  and  thus  deprived  them  of  their  an- 
nuities. The  sum  of  $342,778.37  granted  these  Indians  was  "  at  the  rate 
of  $18,400  per  annum  from  July  1,  1862,  to  July  1,  1888,  less  their  pro 
rata  share  of  the  sum  of  $616,086.52  heretofore  appropriated  for  the  ben- 
efit of  said  Sisseton  and  Wahpeton  bands." 


THE    SIOUX    FROM    1850   TO    1893.  93" 

them  the  sum  of  $18,400  annually  from  July  1,  1888,  to 
July  1, 1901,  the  latter  being  the  date  at  which  the  annu- 
ities of  the  treaty  of  1851  were  to  cease. 

It  has  "been  said  that  since  this  reservation  was 
thrown  open  to  white  settlers  the  Indians  have  deterio- 
rated. But  the  time  has  been  too  brief  to  justify  such  a 
positive  statement.  It  may  be  that  the  necessity  of  ad- 
justing themselves  to  a  new  environment  has  tempora- 
rily retarded  their  progress.  But  it  was  an  adjustment 
which  had  to  take  place  sooner  or  later,  and,  once  made, 
progress  will  begin  again,  and  will  continue  more  stead- 
ily and  rapidly  than  before. 

Allotment  at  Devil's  lake  was  slower  than  at  Lake 
Traverse,  but  in  1893  nearly  all  the  Indians  were  living 
upon  and  cultivating  land  in  severally  ;  the  residue  was 
held  in  common.  The  Devil's  Lake  Indians  had  had 
some  trouble  about  their  boundary  line  as  established  by 
the  fourth  article  of  the  treaty  of  February  19, 1867.  The 
line  was  run  in  1875,  and  its  correctness  was  not  ques- 
tioned until  1883,  when  it  was  discovered  that  it  deprived 
them  of  about  sixty-four  thousand  acres  of  land  which 
was  lawfully  theirs.  By  this  time  a  large  number  of 
whites,  believing  the  land  a  part  of  the  public  domain, 
had  settled  upon  it.  It  was  plain  that  these  could  not  be 
removed,  but  it  was  equally  plain  that  the  Indians  ought 
to  be  compensated.  No  action  was  taken,  however,  until 
June  30,  1892,  when  Congress  enacted  that  these  bands 
be  paid  for  the  sixty-four  thousand  acres  at  the  rate  of 
one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre  ;  "  this  amount 
to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  in  the  purchase  of  stock  and  agricultural  im- 
plements, and  in  promoting  the  comfort  and  improve- 


RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

ment  of  said  Indians,"*  eighty  thousand  dollars  to  be 
immediately  available. 

The  last  reportsf  of  the  Devil's  Lake  Indians  have  not 
been  so  encouraging  as  those  of  former  years.     The  re- 
lapse,  however,  may  have  been  only  temporary      This 
certainly  is  to  be  hoped,  for  these  Indians  will  soon  have 
to  look  to  themselves  for  support.    Except  for  the  unallot- 
ted lands  on  their  reservation,  they  have  nothing  from 
which  they  can  obtain  any  revenue,  and  they  cannot  de- 
pend upon  the  bounty  of  the  Government.     But  if  we 
may  judge  the  future  by  the  past,  the  outlook  is  hopeful 
rather  than  otherwise.     During  the  seventies  and  eighties 
these  Indians  made  comparatively  rapid  progress,  evinc- 
ing considerable  capacity  in  taking  on  the  habits  and 
customs  of  civilized  man.     The  testimony  of  these  years 
must  incline  us  to  hope  that  ultimately  the  Devil's  Lake 
Indians  will  take  their  place  as  intelligent  and  self-sup- 
porting Indians. 

*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XXVI,  1010. 

Affaira 


CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  Sioux  OP  THE  PLAINS  FROM  1850  TO  1893. 

In  1850  the  Sioux  of  the  Plains  comprised  that  part  of 
the  great  Sioux  family  roaming  over  the  country  of  the 
Missouri  and  Upper  Platte  rivers.  They  were  a  wild 
but  brave  people,  wholly  dependent  upon  the  chase  for 
subsistence,  and  as  yet  not  bound  to  the  United  States 
by  treaty  relations.  It  was,  of  course,  impossible  to  ob- 
tain an  accurate  knowledge  of  their  number,  but  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1853-4  estimated  it 
to  be  nearly  sixteen  thousand — the  Brule  band  containing 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  lodges,  the  Yankton  three 
hundred  and  seventy-five,  the  Yanktonnais  four  hundred 
and  fifty,  the  Blackfeet  one  hundred  and  fifty,  the  Unc- 
papa  two  hundred  and  eighty,  the  Sans  Arc  one  hundred 
and  sixty,  and  the  Minneconjou  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five.* 

Previous  to  1850  these  Sioux  had  had  little  intercourse 
with  the  whites.  Living  remote  from  our  frontiers,  their 
wild  mode  of  life  had  been  uninterrupted  and  uninflu- 
enced by  civilization.  But  the  rapid  territorial  growth 
of  the  United  States  between  1840  and  1850  and  the  con- 
sequent immigration  changed  their  status,  together  with 
that  of  the  other  wilder  tribes. 

The  causes  which  stimulated  western  immigration  have 
already  been  discussed  in  Chapter  I.  Right  of  transit 


*  For  the  general  location  of  these  bands,  see  Report  of  Commission- 
,er  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1853-4,  p.  353  :  Sen.  Doc.,  33d  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  I. 


96  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

through  the  Indian  country  was  absolutely  necessary  to 
the  immigrants,  whose  number  had  increased  one  hun- 
dred-fold since  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California  in  1848  ; 
and  February  17,  1851,  a  treaty  was  made  at  Fort  Lara- 
mie  with  eight  tribes,  of  which  the  Sioux  were  one.*  The 
United  States  obtained  from  these  Indians  permission  to 
establish  roads  and  military  posts  on  their  territory,  and 
in  return  promised  to  protect  them  from  the  depreda- 
tions of  the  whites,  and  to  pay  them  in  goods  annually 
for  fifty  years  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  to  be  dis- 
tributed among  them  in  proportion  to  their  population. 
In  this  same  treaty  boundaries  between  the  various  tribes 
were  established,  and  the  Indians  promised  to  refrain 
from  hostilities  against  each  other.  The  Senate  amended 
the  treaty,  limiting  the  annuity  to  ten  years  and  giving 
the  President  discretionary  power  to  continue  it  five 
years  longer.  This  amendment  was  subsequently  ratified 
by  allf  save  the  Crows.  But  since  the  United  States  was 
dealing  with  the  tribes  jointly  and  not  severally,  the 
failure  of  the  Crows  to  sign  made  the  ratification  invalid 
and  the  amended  treaty  of  no  effect.!  Despite  this  fact, 
the  Government  ordered  the  annuities  to  be  stopped 
promptly  at  the  end  of  fifteen  years,  and  this  was  one  of 
the  main  causes  of  the  war  of  1866. 


*  The  other  tribes  were  the  Cheyenne,  Arapahoe,  Crow,  Assinaboin, 
Gros  Ventre,  Mandan,  and  Arickaree. 

t  Only  four  of  the  six  Sioux  chiefs  who  signed  the  treaty  signed  the 
amendment.  Possibly  this  would  have  impaired  its  validity  for  them, 
even  supposing  it  had  been  valid  in  all  other  respects. 

t  For  this  reason  the  treaty  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  of  our  public 
statutes.  I  was  able  to  obtain  a  copy  of  it  only  through  the  Secretary  of 
State. 


THE    SIOUX    FROM    1850   TO   1893.  97 

Considering  the  fact  that  these  Indians  were  depend- 
ent upon  the  chase  for  subsistence,  and  that  game  rap- 
idly decreased  in  consequence  of  the  steady  stream  of 
immigration,  the  annuity  was  miserably  small.  Many  of 
the  Sioux  eked  out  a  living  with  roots,  herbs,  and  berries  ; 
some  really  suffered  from  starvation.  In  addition  to  this, 
the  Indians  were  stricken  with  smallpox,  measles,  and 
cholera,  diseases  which  they  claimed,  and  with  some  rea- 
son, had  been  introduced  among  them  by  the  immi- 
grants. 

Despite  their  sad  plight,  the  Sioux  essentially  kept  the 
treaty  of  1851,  until  the  annihilation  of  Lieutenant  Grat- 
tan's  command  in  1854  ;  and  the  circumstances  which 
led  to  this  unfortunate  affair  were  such  as  to  exonerate 
them  from  blame.  On  August  18  of  that  year  a  com- 
pany of  Mormon  emigrants  passed  an  encampment  of 
Brule,  Ogallala,  and  Minneconjou  Indians  waiting  near 
Fort  Laramie  for  their  annuities.  A  cow  belonging  to 
one  of  the  emigrants  strayed  into  the  Indian  village 
and  was  there  killed  by  a  Minneconjou,  who  then  took 
refuge  with  the  Brules.  The  Bear,  chief  of  the  Brules, 
went  to  Fort  Laramie,  reported  the  circumstances  and 
advised  that  troops  be  sent  to  demand  the  culprit.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  next  day,  August  19,  Lieutenant  Grat- 
tan,  with  a  party  of  twenty-nine  men,  went  to  the  Indian 
camp.  But  the  Bear  either  could  not  or  would  not  de- 
liver up  the  offender.  Several  circumstances  unite  to 
give  weight  to  the  former  supposition.  First,  it  is  not 
probable  that  the  Bear  would  have  gone  to  Fort  Laramie 
and  advised  that  a  detachment  of  troops  be  sent  to  de- 
mand the  offender,  if  he  had  not  intended  to  use  such 
power  as  he  had  to  influence  his  camp  to  deliver  up  the 


98  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

Indian.  Second,  the  chiefs  of  these  western  tribes  had 
very  little  authority,  and  that  which  the  Bear  had  was 
counteracted  by  the  conduct  of  Lieutenant  Grattan's 
drunken  interpreter,  whose  brutal  language  incensed  the 
Indians.  However  that  may  be,  the  culprit  was  not  de- 
livered up,  and  Lieutenant  Grattan  and  his  party,  armed 
and  taking  with  them  a  twelve-pounder  and  a  mountain 
howitzer,  made  their  way  into  the  village  and  attempted 
to  take  him  by  force.  There  they  were  surrounded  and 
killed  to  a  man.*  Immediately  afterwards  the  Indians 
went  to  the  warehouse  near  by  and  took  from  it  their  an- 
nuity goods. f 

The  Sioux  tribes  did  not  regard  this  massacre  as  a  sig- 
nal for  a  general  uprising.  As  a  whole  they  remained 
quiet  and  peaceable  as  before.  But  a  few  bands,  led  by 
the  wilder  and  younger  braves,  committed  some  depre- 
dations and  made  raids  upon  neighboring  tribes  ;  and 
one  of  them,  Wasagahas'  band,  murdered  a  United 
States  mail  party  in  November,  1854.  These  troubles 
were  greatly  exaggerated,  and  General  Harney  with  three 
regiments  was  dispatched  to  put  an  end  to  the  "  Sioux 
War."  The  North  Platte  was  declared  the  boundary  be- 


*  The  above  account  has  been  taken  from  the  Reports  of  the  Com- 
missioner of  Indian  Affairs  and  Reports  from  the  Department  of  the 
West:  Ex.  Docs  ,  33rd  Cong.,  2nd  Sess.,  Vol.  I,  Pt.  II,  No.  I,  pp.  38-10. 

t  The  Commissioner  of  Indians  affairs,  in  commenting  upon  this  un- 
happy event,  says:  "The  Mormons  should,  under  the  provisions  of  the 
*  intercourse  act,'  have  applied  to  the  agent,  who  was  in  the  vicinity,  for 
redress,  and  he  could,  under  the  law,  have  paid,  out  of  the  annuities,  for 
the  property  taken  ;  but  no  officer  of  the  military  department  was,  in  my 
opinion,  authorized  to  arrest  or  try  the  Indian  for  the  offense  charged 
against  him."  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1854-5. 
Sen.  Doc.,  33d  Cong.,  2nd  Sess.,  I,  224. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO    1893.  99- 

tween  the  hostile  and  friendly  Indians,  and  all,  except 
those  of  the  Brule  band,  who  had  been  implicated  in  the 
United  States  mail  murder  and  those  who  had  committed 
depredations  upon  the  whites  were  ordered  to  cross  to 
the  south  side  of  the  river.  For  some  reason  Little 
Thunder  and  his  band  of  Brule  Sioux*  remained  on  the 
north  side,  encamped  on  Blue  Water  creek.  Here  they 
were  attacked  by  General  Harney,  September  3,  1855. 
Eighty-six  Indians  were  killed,  five  wounded,  seventy 
women  and  children  captured,  fifty  mules  and  ponies 
taken,  and  an  indefinite  number  killed  and  disabled. 
This  Battle  of  the  Blue  Water  was  the  only  one  of  mo- 
ment in  the  so-called  Sioux  War  of  1855.f 

The  next  year,  at  a  council  held  during  the  first  five  days 
of  March,  an  attempt  was  made  to  adjust  the  difficulties 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Sioux.  The  records 
of  this  council  portray  most  admirably  the  temper  of  the 
Indians  there  represented  :  "  The  Two  Kettle,  Lower 
Yanctons,  Uncpapas,  Blackfeet  Sioux,  Minneconjous,  Sans 
Arc,  Yanctonnais,  two  bands,  and  Brules  of  the  Platte."! 
The  chiefs  sincerely  deprecated  the  wrongs  which  had 
been  committed  by  their  people,  and  deeply  desired 


*  There  seems  to  be  some  question  as  to  whether  these  Indians  had 
anything  to  do  with  the  Grattan  massacre.  General  Harney  says  he 
found  in  their  possession  remnants  of  clothing,  etc.,  carried  off  by 
the  Indians  on  that  occasion,  and  that  would  seem  to  implicate  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  agent,  Thomas  S.  Twiss,  invited  them  to  cross  to 
the  South  Platte,  although  he  had  forbidden  the  Grattan  murderers  to 
do  so.  See  Ex.  Docs.,  34th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Vol.  I,  Pt.  II,  p.  51 ;  ibid., 
Pt.  I,  401. 

t  For  an  account  o!  the  battle  in  General  Barney's  own  words,  see 
Ex.  Docs.,  34th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Vol.  I,  Pt.  2,  pp.  49-51. 

t  Ibid.,  Vol.  XII,  No.  130,  p.  6. 


100  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

peace.  The  attitude  of  General  Harney  was  admirable. 
Throughout  the  council  he  impressed  the  Indians  with 
the  idea  that  the  United  States  was  all  powerful  and 
would  insist  upon  the  strictest  adherence  to  treaty  rights  ; 
and  that  every  infringement  of  these  would  be  surely 
punished.  Finally,  he  submitted  to  them  a  treaty  which 
was  signed  by  the  nine  bands  named  above,  and  later  by 
the  Ogallalas,  who  had  not  been  represented  at  this 
council.  The  Indians,  on  their  part,  promised  to  deliver 
up  to  the  nearest  military  post  all  who  had  "  committed 
murders  or  other  outrages  upon  white  persons  "*  and  all 
stolen  property.  The  chiefs  were  to  be  responsible  for 
the  good  conduct  of  their  bands,  and,  if  not  able  to 
control  them,  were  to  report  the  fact  to  the  nearest  mili- 
tary post.  The  Indians  were  not  to  molest,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  to  protect  travelers  through  their  country. 
Sioux  war  parties  were  not  to  go  down  to  the  Pawnee 
country.  Trade  in  horses  and  mules  was  to  be  stopped 
because  it  encouraged  young  men  to  steal.  The  Indians 
were  advised  "  to  raise  stock  and  to  cultivate  the  soil."f 

The  United  States,  on  its  part,  engaged  to  protect  the 
Sioux  from  impositions  by  the  whites  ;  to  restore  the 
annuities,  and  to  set  at  liberty  all  Indian  prisoners  "  not 
implicated  in  any  murder,  robbery,  or  other  high  crime 
against  our  people."  These  were  the  terms  of  the  treaty, 
but  the  Indians  laid  quite  as  much  stress  upon  the  sug- 
gestions and  promises  of  General  Harney,  which  did  not 
receive  treaty  sanction.  What  these  were  may  be  most 
clearly  seen  from  his  own  words  : 

"  Certain  chiefs  were  recognized  by  the  nation,  others 

*  Ex.  Docs.,  34th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Vol.  XII,  No.  130,  p.  6. 
t  Ex.  Docs.,  34th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Vol.  XII,  No.  130,  pp.  6-7. 


THE    SIOUX    PROM    1850   TO    1893.  101 

by  the  military,  others  again  by  the  agents,  and  the 
traders,  for  their  own  purposes,  have  most  unwarranta- 
bly given  medals  and  appointed  chiefs.  These  conflict- 
ing interests  necessarily  weakened  the  authority  of  all 
these  chiefs,  and  to  correct  this  evil  I  most  respectfully 
request  that  the  President  will  direct  and  order  that 
hereafter  none  other  chiefs  of  the  Sioux  but  those  select- 
ed in  the  late  council,  under  the  conditions  there  agreed 
upon,  be  recognized  by  either  the  War  or  Interior  De- 
partments. This  unity  of  action  will  greatly  tend  to 
promote  the  influence  of  the  Government  over  these 
people.  That  the  organization  of  the  Sioux  may  be  more 
complete,  I  proposed  to  the  chiefs  to  have  a  certain  num- 
ber of  soldiers  in  each  band  to  assist  them  to  carry  out 
my  views.  They  have  each  given  in  the  number  which 
they  deemed  sufficient  for  that  purpose  in  each  band, 
and  I  recommend  that  these  soldiers  be  regularly  named, 
and  receive  from  the  Government  a  dress  or  uniform  by 
which  they  will  be  known  ;  and  that  for  the  time  they 
may  be  doing  duty  under  their  chiefs  in  their  villages 
they  will  receive  their  rations.  The  expense  would  be 
trifling,  and  their  young  men  would  be  stimulated  and 
encouraged  to  seek  these  positions.  The  dress  should  be 
durable  and  gaudy,  particularly  the  head-dress  (they  are 
fond  of  feathers).  The  uniform  of  the  different  bands 
should  be  different,  and  the  same  should  have  place  in 
the  different  grades  of  chief,  sub-chief,  etc.  By  gradually 
causing  the  interests  of  a  portion  of  the  nation  to  depend 
upon  the  wishes  of  the  Government,  the  remainder  will 
be  easily  con  trolled.  "* 


Ex.  Docs.,  34th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Vol.  XII,  No.  130,  p.  3. 


102  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

In  his  council*  with  these  Indians  General  Harney 
recognized  certain  chiefs  as  the  only  head  chiefs  of  their 
respective  bands,  and  stipulated  the  number  of  soldiers 
each  chief  was  to  have.  He  also  forwarded  to  the  Presi- 
dent an  estimate  of  the  amount  necessary  to  fulfill  the 
agreements  made  with  the  Indians,  the  amount  being 
sixty-two  thousand  dollars. 

Although  General  Harney  was  authorized  by  the  Presi- 
dent to  make  the  treaty,  it  does  not  appear  that  it  was 
ever  looked  upon  as  legal.  It  was  never  published  in 
the  statutes,  and  neither  party  strictly  adhered  to  it.  The 
plan  proposed  to  remedy  the  inability  of  the  chiefs  to  re- 
strain their  young  braves  received  little  encouragement, 
and  soon  died  a  natural  death.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  plan  was  not  carried  out,  for  it  struck  to  the  root  of 
the  trouble  and  might  have  furnished  a  remedy.  As  it 
was,  neither  the  Harney  campaign  nor  the  so-called 
" Harney  treaty"  met  with  a  definite  result. 

The  next  few  years  were  uneventful.  There  were  raids 
and  depredations  upon  the  whites,  but  none  of  serious 
magnitude.  With  the  exception  of  several  small  bands 
of  Santees  on  the  Minnesota  river  who  did  not  receive 
annuities,  there  were  no  actively  hostile  Sioux.  Still, 
the  security  for  continued  peace  was  not  strong.  The 
treaty  of  Fort  Laramie  in  1851  had  been  made  by  a 
meagre  representation  of  the  tribes,  and  not  all  of  the 
Missouri  Sioux  felt  themselves  bound  by  it ;  and  those 
who  did  not  were  the  most  warlike  and  independent  of 
their  people.  They  resented  the  encroachments  of  the 
whites  upon  their  territory  and  desired  to  have  absolute- 


*  For  the  minutes  of  this  council,  see  ibid.,  No.  130. 


THE    SIOUX    FROM    1850   TO    1893.  103 

ly  nothing  to  do  with  the  Government.  They  insisted, 
moreover,  that  those  who  had  signed  this  treaty  should 
repudiate  their  obligations  and  refuse  to  receive  annui- 
ties. 

On  the  other  hand,  those  who  had  signed  the  Fort 
Laramie  treaty  were  at  the  mercy  of  this  hostile  element. 
They  repeatedly  begged  the  Government  to  aid  them,  but 
no  attention  was  paid  to  their  request.  Still  they  con- 
tinued loyal  until  1862.  When,  in  May  of  that  year,  the 
agent  arrived  at  Fort  Pierre  with  their  annuity  goods, 
they  held  a  consultation  and  then,  once  more,  explained 
their  position.  They  said:  "That  General  Harney,  at 
Pierre,  in  1856,  had  promised  them  aid  ;  that  they  were 
greatly  in  the  minority  ;  that  that  portion  of  their  peo- 
ple opposed  to  the  Government  were  more  hostile  than 
ever  before  ;  that  they  had,  year  after  year,  been  prom- 
ised the  fulfillment  of  this  pledge,  but  since  none  had 
come  they  must  now  break  off  their  friendly  relations 
with  the  Government  and  rejoin  their  respective  bands, 
as  they  could  hold  out  no  longer  ;  that  their  lives  and 
property  were  threatened  in  case  they  accepted  any  more 
goods  from  the  Government ;  that  the  small  amount  of 
annuities  given  them  did  not  give  satisfaction  ;  it  created 
discord  rather  than  harmony,  nor  would  it  justify  them, 
to  come  in  so  far  to  receive  them  ;  that  they  had  been 
friends  to  the  Government  and  to  all  white  men  ;  had 
lived  up  to  their  pledges  made  at  Laramie  in  1857,  as  far 
as  it  was  possible  under  the  circumstances,  and  still 
wished  to  do  so,  but  must  henceforth  be  excused  unless 
their  Great  Father  would  aid  them."* 


*  Report  of  Samuel  N.  Latta,  United  States  agent,  Upper  Missouri : 
Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1862-3,  37th  Cong.,  3rd 


104  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

Meanwhile  the  travel  of  the  whites  through  the  Indian 
country  westward  continued.  Many  of  them  committed 
depredations,  and,  despite  the  guarantee*  of  the  United 
States  to  the  Indians  in  the  treaty  of  1851,  were  left 
unpunished.  It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  that  the 
fall  of  1862  found  many  of  the  Missouri  Sioux  actively 
hostile.  When  they  were  joined  by  the  Santeef  fugi- 
tives of  Minnesota,  the  Government  had  upon  its  hands 
a  war  of  no  mean  proportions.  The  number  of  the  hos- 
tiles  rapidly  increased.  There  being  no  military  posts 
on  the  Upper  Missouri  to  protect  the  friendly  Indians, 
they  were  obliged  in  self-defense  to  take  up  arms.  In 
1864  war  broke  out  with  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes. 
More  United  States  troops  were  sent,  but  the  difficulty  of 
"  conquering  a  peace  "  seemed  as  great  as  ever.  Finally 
a  Commission!  was  appointed  by  the  President  to  treat 
with  the  bands  of  the  Upper  Missouri.  The  first  council 
was  held  at  Fort  Sully,  October  6,  1865,  with  the  chiefs 


Seas.,  II,  p.  336.  The  fear  of  the  Indians  was  justified.  Bear's  Rib, 
chief  of  the  Uncpapas,  was  killed  by  the  Sans  Arcs  for  allowing  his  band 
to  accept  annuities.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for 
1862-3:  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  37th  Cong.,  3d  Seas., 
Vol.  II,  184-5. 

*  The  third  article  of  this  treaty  read  as  follows  :  "  The  United  States 
bind  themselves  to  protect  the  aforesaid  Indian  nations  against  the  com- 
mission of  all  depredations  by  the  people  of  the  said  United  States,  after 
the  ratification  of  this  treaty."  Copy  of  treaty  obtained  from  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior. 

t  Another  name  for  the  Sioux  of  the  Mississippi.  From  1860  on  they 
are  often  called  the  Santee  Sioux. 

t  The  members  of  this  Commission  were  Newton  Edmun,  Edward 
B.  Taylor,  Major-General  S.  R.  Curtis,  Brigadier-General  H.  H.  Sibley, 
Henry  W.  Reed,  and  Orrin  Guernsey. 


THE    SIOJJX   FROM    1850   TO    1893.  105 

and  head  men  of  the  Minneconjou,  and  on  the  tenth  a 
treaty*  was  made  with  them. 

Article  I  provided  that  the  Minneconjou  acknowledge 
the  jurisdiction  and  authority  of  the  United  States,  bind 
themselves  to  cease  all  hostilities  against  it,  and  use  their 
influence  to  prevent  other  Sioux  bands  or  adjacent  tribes 
from  making  hostile  demonstrations. 

Article  II  provided  that  the  Minneconjou  "  discontinue 
for  the  future  all  attacks  upon  the  persons  or  property 
of  other  tribes,  unless  first  assailed  by  them." 

Article  III  provided  that  "  all  controversies  or  differ- 
ences arising  between  the  Minneconjou  band  of  Dakotas 
or  Sioux,  represented  in  council,  and  other  tribes  of  In- 
dians, involving  the  question  of  peace  or  war,  *  * 
be  submitted  to  the  arbitrament  of  the  President,  or 
*  *  *  persons  designated  by  him,  and  the  decision  or 
award  faithfully  observed  by  the  said  band  represented 
in  council." 

Article  IV  provided  that  the  Indians  withdraw  "  from 
the  routes  overland  already  established,  or  hereafter  to 
be  established  through  their  country"  ;  and  that  the 
United  States  pay  to  them  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars annually  for  twenty  years  in  such  articles  as  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior  might  direct. 

Article  V  provided  that  any  individual  locating  perma- 
nently on  lands  belonging  to  their  band  be  protected 
therein  "  against  any  annoyance  or  molestation  on  the 
part  of  whites  or  Indians." 

Article  VI  provided  that  any  amendment  made  by  the 


U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XIV,  695-6. 


106  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

Senate  be  binding  upon  the  band  without  its  ratifi- 
cation.* 

Treaties  embracing  the  same  articles,  but  differing  in 
the  amount  of  the  annuity  promised  each  band,f  were 
made  during  the  same  month  of  October  with  the  Black- 
feet^  the  Lower  Brule,  the  Ogallala,  the  Uncpapa,  the 
Sans  Arc,  the  Two  Kettle,  the  Yanktonnais,  and  the 
Upper  Yanktonnais  Sioux. §  Those  with  the  last  six 
bands  embraced  an  additional  article  which  provided,  in 
the  words  of  the  treaty,  "  that  whenever  twenty  lodges  or 

families  of  the band  shall  have  located  on  land  for 

agricultural  purposes,  •  *  *  *  they,  as  well  as  other 
families  so  locating,  shall  receive  the  sum  of  twenty-five 
dollars  annually,  for  five  years,  for  each  family,  in  agri- 
cultural implements  and  improvements  ;  and  when  one 


*  This  is  interesting  as  showing  how  completely  the  theory  and 
practice  of  the  United  States  were  at  variance.  These  Indians  were 
theoretically  regarded  as  nations,  but  a  treaty  with  a  nation  would  not 
have  contained  such  an  article  as  this. 

t  The  Blackfeet  were  promised  $7,000  annually  for  twenty  years. 

The  Lower  Ernie's  were  promised  $6,000  annually  for  twenty  years. 

The  Ogallalas  were  promised  $10,000  annually  for  twenty  years. 

The  Uncpapas  were  promised  $30  for  each  family  annually  for 
twenty  years. 

The  Sans  Arcs  were  promised  $30  for  each  family  annually  for 
twenty  years. 

The  Two  Kettles  were  promised  $6,000  annually  for  twenty  years. 

The  Yanktonnais  were  promised  $30  for  each  family  annually  for 
twenty  years. 

The  Upper  Yanktonnais  were  promised  $10,000  annually  for  twenty 
years. 

$  The  treaty  with  the  Blackfeet  did  not  contain  Article  V. 

§  These  treaties  are  to  be  found  in  the  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XIV, 
see  Index. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO   1893.  107 


hundred  lodges  or  families  shall  have  so  engaged  in 
agricultural  pursuits,  they  shall  be  entitled  to  a  farmer 
and  blacksmith,  at  the  expense  of  the  Government,  as 
also  teachers,  at  the  option  of  the  Secretary  of  the  In- 
terior."* 

The  treaty  with  the  Lower  Brule  Sioux  provided  for 
locating  the  band  upon  a  permanent  reservation  "  at  or 
near  the  mouth  of  the  White  river,"  and  promised  them 
Government  assistance  only  when  fifty  families  should 
engage  in  agriculture. f 

The  above  treaties  are  an  excellent  indication  of  the 
temper  of  the  Indians  at  this  time.  Had  the  United 
States  felt  that  its  hold  upon  the  Sioux  was  firm,  it  would 
have  insisted,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  upon  the  essen- 
tial features  of  its  civilization  policy,  namely  :  that  the 
Indians  abandon  their  nomadic  life,  settle  upon  perma- 
nent reservations,  and  apply  themselves  to  agriculture. 
But  the  Commissioners  realized  that  they  entertained 
no  really  amicable  feeling  toward  the  Government. 
"  At  each  council  complaints  were  preferred  of  ill  treat- 
ment or  fraudulent  practices  by  Indian  agents,  traders, 
and  other  white  men,  and  all  appeared  to  regard  a 
restoration  of  kind  relations  with  the  United  States  in 
the  light  of  interest  or  profit  to  themselves,  and  not  in- 
spired by  more  humane  or  generous  sentiments."!  The 
attitude  of  all  the  Missouri  Sioux  was  exemplified  by 
that  of  the  Minneconjou,  of  whom  the  Commissioners 


*  Ibid.,  748. 

t  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XIV,  700. 

%  Report  of  Commission  to  treat  with  the  Sioux  of  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri :  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  39th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  724. 


108  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

said  :  "  It  was  deemed  useless,  as  well  as  impolitic,  to 
make  any  attempt  to  enforce  conditions  upon  this  wild, 
nomadic  band,  having  reference  to  a  future  location  for 
purposes  of  agriculture  and  other  labor.  The  mere  men- 
tion of  a  possibility  that  its  members  would  be  compelled 
eventually  to  conform  to  the  wishes  of  the  Government 
in  that  respect,  and  thereby  consult  their  own  permanent 
interests,  was  received  with  unmistakable  tokens  of  dis- 
sent, and  the  Commission  therefore  declined  to  press  the 
point,  lest  it  might  endanger  the  success  of  the  more  im- 
portant object,  that  of  securing  *  *  *  peace/'* 

The  treaties  of  October,  1865,  brought  about  a  cessa- 
tion of  hostilities. f  During  that  winter  the  Indians  suf- 
fered intensely  from  cold  and  hunger,  but,  notwithstand- 
ing the  temptation  to  plunder  in  order  to  obtain  the 
necessaries  of  life,  they  kept  the  peace.  The  summer  of 
1866,  however,  found  them  again  in  arms.  The  occasion 
was  this  :  In  the  Fort  Laramie  treaty  of  1851  the  Indians 
had  conceded  to  the  Government  the  right  u  to  establish 
roads,  military  and  other  posts  within  their  respective 
territories  "  ;J  and  the  Sioux  in  their  treaties  of  1865  had 
confirmed  this  concession  when  they  agreed  "  to  withdraw 
from  the  routes  overland  already  established  or  hereafter 
to  be  established  through  their  country."§  The  same 
treaty  of  1851  had  established  definite  boundarv  lines  be- 


*  Keport  of  the  Commission  to  treat  with  the  Sioux  of  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri :  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  39th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  722. 

t  The  Minnesota  refugees  of  1862  and  a  few  other  Sioux  who  had 
made  themselves  notorious  by  murders  and  depredations  upon  the 
whites  were  still  actively  hostile  but  were  few  in  number. 

J  Fort  Laramie  treaty  of  1851 :  Copy  obtained  from  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior. 

§  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XIV,  700. 


. 


THE    SIOUX    FROM    1850   TO    1893.  109 


ween  the  various  tribes.  The  Sioux  country  included 
the  Black  Hills  and  the  Powder  River  valley,  the  latter 
prized  by  the  Indians  as  an  especially  rich  hunting 
ground. 

Meanwhile  gold  had  been  discovered  in  Montana,  and 
in  1866,  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  being  over,  immigra- 
tion began  to  this  Territory.  Many  of  the  immigrants 
went  by  way  of  the  Powder  River  valley,  and  the  Indians 
seriously  objected  to  this  use  of  their  favorite  hunting 
ground,  as  being  sure  to  result  in  a  rapid  decrease  of 
game.  Nevertheless,  in  March  of  1866  General  Pope  or- 
dered that  military  posts  be  established  on  this  route,  and 
a  few  months  later  troops  were  sent  to  Forts  Phillip 
Kearney,  McPherson,  and  Reno.  The  wilder  and  more 
independent  Sioux  were  at  once  aroused,  and  sent  word 
to  the  Government  that  they  would  not  allow  the  passage 
of  immigrants  through  the  Powder  River  country  nor  the 
establishment  of  military  posts  there.  The  fact  that  the 
Government  had  this  same  year  stopped  their  annuities 
due  under  the  treaty  of  1851  gave  them  a  pretext  for  tak- 
ing up  arms.  They  acknowledged  that  in  that  treaty  they 
had  granted  the  United  States  the  right  to  establish  roads 
and  military  posts,  but  they  claimed  that  the  United 
States  had  lost  this  right  when  it  ordered  their  annuities 
to  be  discontinued  at  the  end  of  fifteen  instead  of  fifty 
years.*  Still  they  would  probably  have  taken  no  action 
if  the  Powder  River  valley  had  been  left  intact.  Immi- 
gration through  this  country  meant  a  loss  of  the  means 
of  support,  and  this  they  regarded  as  a  sufficient  justifi- 
cation for  war. 


*  See  above,  page  96. 


110  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX   INDIANS. 

The  temper  of  the  Sioux  had  been  clearly  indicated  in 
the  councils  at  which  the  treaties  of  1865  were  made. 
They  had  then  so  strongly  expressed  their  objection  to 
roads  through  the  Powder  River  valley  that  the  Commis- 
sioners had  felt  called  upon  to  assure  them  that  such 
roads  would  probably  not  be  made  in  the  near  future. 
This  was  unfortunate,  for  the  Indians  had  demonstrated 
again  and  again  that  they  laid  as  much  stress  upon 
spoken  as  upon  written  words.  It  was  unfortunate  also 
that  the  Government  persistently  closed  its  eyes  to  the 
true  state  of  the  case. 

Hostilities  began  in  July  of  1866,  and  December  21 
Lieutenant  Fetterman's  party  was  killed  to  a  man  at  Fort 
Phillip  Kearney.  July  20, 1867,  Congress  authorized  the 
President  to  appoint  a  Commission*  to  treat  with  the  In- 
dians. This  Commission  met  some  of  the  Sioux  at  Fort 
Laramie  in  the  fall  of  1867,  but  Red  Cloud  refused  to  be 
present  unless  he  were  assured  that  the  military  garri- 
sons in  the  Powder  River  valley  should  be  withdrawn. 
Since  he  was  the  leading  chief  of  the  hostiles,  nothing  was 
accomplished.  During  the  following  winter,  however, 
there  were  no  hostilities,  and  April  29,  1868, f  a  treaty 
was  negotiated  with  the  Brule,  Ogallala,  Minneconjou, 
Yanktonnais,  Uncpapa,  Blackfeet,  Cuthead,  Two  Kettle, 
Sans  Arc,  and  Santee  bands  of  Sioux. 

Article  II  provided  that  a  certain  district  in  Dakota  be 
"set  apart  for  the  absolute  *  *  use  *  *  of  the 
Indians  herein  named,  and  for  such  other  friendly  tribes 


*  The  instructions  to  this  Commission  are  indicative  of  the  govern- 
mental policy.     See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  17. 

t  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  635-40.    Ratification  advised  Febru- 
ary 16,  1869  ;  proclaimed  February  24,  1869. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM   1850   TO   1893.  Ill 

or  individual  Indians  as  from  time  to  time  they  may  be 
willing,  with  the  consent  of  the  United  States,  to  admit 
amongst  them,"*  and  for  the  exclusion  from  the  reserva- 
tion of  all  except  duly  authorized  persons.  In  this  same 
article  the  Indians  relinquished  all  claim  to  any  territory 
in  the  United  States  except  that  to  which  their  right  was 
acknowledged  in  this  treaty. 

Article  IV  provided  for  the  construction  of  certain 
buildings. f 

Article  VI  gave  to  each  head  of  a  family  the  right  to 
select  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  and  each  member 
of  the  tribe  over  eighteen  years  of  age  eighty  acres,  to  be 
the  exclusive  possession  of  the  person  occupying  it  so 
long  as  he  should  continue  to  cultivate  it.  This  same  ar- 
ticle empowered  the  "  United  States  to  pass  such  laws  on 
the  subject  of  alienation  and  descent  of  property  between 
the  Indians  and  their  descendants  "  as  might  be  thought 
proper.  It  further  stipulated  that  any  male  Indian  over 
eighteen  years  of  age  and  party  to  this  treaty,  who  should 
settle  upon  land  outside  of  this  reservation  and  open  to 
Indian  occupation,  occupy  the  same  for  three  consecutive 
years,  and  make  improvements  thereon  to  the  value  of  two 
hundred  dollars,  should  receive  a  patent  for  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  and  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States. 

Article  VH  provided  for  the  compulsory  education  of 
all  children  between  the  ages  of  six  and  sixteen  years, 


*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  636. 

t  Such  as  a  warehouse,  a  storeroom,  an  agency  building,  a  residence 
for  the  physician,  and  "five  other  buildings  for  a  carpenter,  farmer, 
blacksmith,  miller,  and  engineer,"  also  a  schoolhouse  so  soon  as  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  children  could  be  induced  to  attend  school.  U.  S.  Stat- 
utes at  Large,  XV,  636. 


112  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

and  for  the  erection  of  a  schoolhouse  and  the  employ- 
ment of  a  teacher  for  every  thirty  of  such  children. 

Article  VIII  provided  that  "  seeds  and  argicultural  im- 
plements for  the  first  year,  not  exceeding  in  value  one- 
hundred  dollars,  and  for  each  succeeding  year  *  * 
for  a  period  of  three  years  more,  *v..v#  • .  #  not  exceed- 
ing in  value  twenty-five  dollars,"*  should  be  given  to  each 
head  of  a  family  who  should  select  land  and  satisfy  the 
agent  that  he  meant  to  cultivate  it ;  also  that  such  per- 
sons should  be  instructed  by  a  farmer  and  receive  a 
second  blacksmith  when  more  than  one  hundred  should 
have  begun  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

Article  X  provided  for  the  distribution  of  certain  goods 
in  lieu  of  annuities  under  previously  existing  treaties,  for 
the  annual  appropriation  of  ten  dollars  for  each  person 
who  should  continue  to  roam  and  hunt,  and  twenty  dol- 
lars for  each  person  who  should  engage  in  farming,  to  be 
paid  in  goods  ;  and  for  the  distribution  of  certain  other 
goods.f 


•*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  638. 

t  "  And  it  is  hereby  expressly  stipulated  that  each  Indian  over  the  age 
of  four  years,  who  shall  have  removed  to  and  settled  permanently  upon 
said  reservation  and  complied  with  the  stipulations  of  this  treaty,  shall 
be  entitled  to  receive  from  the  United  States,  for  the  period  of  four  years 
after  he  shall  have  settled  upon  said  reservation,  one  pound  of  meat  and 
one  pound  of  flour  per  day,  provided  the  Indians  cannot  furnish  their 
own  subsistence  at  an  earlier  date.  *  *  * 

u  And  it  is  further  expressly  stipulated  that  the  United  States  will  fur- 
nish and  deliver  to  each  lodge  of  Indians  or  family  of  persona  legally  in- 
corporated with  them,  who  shall  remove  to  the  reservation  herein 
described  and  commence  farming,  one  good  American  cow  and  one  good 
well- broken  pair  of  American  oxen  within  sixty  days  after  such  lodge  or 
family  shall  have  so  settled  upon  said  reservation."  U.  S.  Statutes  at 
Large,  XV,  639. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO    1893.  113 

Article  XI  provided  that  the  tribes  party  to  this  agree- 
ment "  relinquish  all  right  to  occupy  permanently  the 
territory  outside  their  reservation,  *  *  but  yet  re- 
serve the  right  to  hunt  on  any  lands  north  of  North 
Platte  and  on  the  Republican  Fork  of  Smoky  Hill  river 
so  long  as  the  buffalo  may  range  thereon  in  such  num- 
bers as  to  justify  the  chase."*  The  Indians  further  agreed  : 

(1)  To  "  withdraw  all  opposition  to  the  construction 
of  the  railroads     *     *     being  built  on  the  plains." 

(2)  To  "  permit  the  peaceful  construction  of  any  rail- 
road not  passing  over  their  reservation." 

(3)  Not  to  "  attack  any  persons  at  home  or  traveling, 
nor  molest  or  disturb  any  wagon  trains,  coaches,  mules, 
or  cattle  belonging  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  or 
to  persons  friendly  therewith." 

(4)  Not  to  "  capture  or  carry  off  from  the  settlements 
white  women  or  children." 

(5)  Not  to  "kill  or  scalp  white  men,  nor  attempt  to 
do  them  harm." 

(6)  To  "withdraw  all  pretense  of  opposition  to  the 
construction  of  the  railroad     *     *     being  built  along  the 
Platte  river  and  westward  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  and    *    * 
not  in  future  "  to  u  object  to  the  construction  of  railroads, 
wagon  roads,  mail  stations,  or  other  works  of  utility  or 
necessity  which  may  be  ordered  or  permitted  by  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,"  a  just  indemnity  to  be  paid  for 
those  built  on  the  reservation.! 


*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  639. 

+  "  But  should  such  roads  or  other  works  be  constructed  on  the  lands 
of  their  reservation,  the  Government  will  pay  the  tribe  whatever  amount 
of  damage  may  be  assessed  by  three  disinterested  commissioners,  to  be 
)pointed  by  the  President  for  that  purpose,  one  of  said  commissioners 
to  be  a  chief  or  head  man  of  the  tribe."  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  639. 


114  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

(7)  To  "withdraw  all  opposition  to  the  military 
posts  or  roads  *  *  established  south  of  the  North 
Platte  river,  or"  to  "be  established,  not  in  violation  of 
treaties  heretofore  made  or  hereafter  to  be  made  with 
any  of  the  Indian  tribes." 

Article  XII  provided  that  no  treaty  for  the  cession  of 
any  portion  of  the  reservation  held  in  common  should 
be  valid  "  unless  signed  by  three-fourths  of  the  adult 
male  population  ;  and  that  no  cession  of  the  tribe  *  * 
be  *  *  construed  in  such  manner  as  to  deprive,  with- 
out his  consent,  any  individual  member  of  the  tribe  of 
his  rights  to  any  tract  of  land  selected  by  him,  as  pro- 
vided in  Article  VI  of  this  treaty." 

Article  XVI  provided  "  that  the  country  north  of  the 
North  Platte  river  and  east  of  the  summits  of  the  Big 
Horn  mountains  be  considered 

*  *  unceded  Indian  territory  ;  and  *  *  that 
no  white  person  be  permitted  to  * 

occupy  any  portion  of  the  same  or,  without  the  consent 
of  the  Indians,  to  pass  through  the  same  ; 

and  *  *  that  within  ninety  days  after  the  con- 
clusion of  peace  with  all  the  bands  of  the  Sioux  nation, 
the  military  posts*  *  *  established  in  the  terri- 
tory in  this  article  named  *  be  abandoned  and 
that  the  road  leading  to  them  and  by  them  to  the  settle- 
ments in  *  *  Montana  *  *  be  closed."! 

Article  XVII  provided  "  that  the  execution  of  this 
treaty  *  *  be  construed  as  *  *  annulling  all  treaties 
and  agreements  heretofore  entered  into  between  the  re- 
spective parties  hereto,  so  far  as  such  treaties  and  agree- 


*  Forts  Phillip  Kearney,  McPherson,  and  Reno. 
t  TJ.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  640. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM   1850   TO    1893.  115 

ments  obligate  the  United  States  to  furnish  *  *  money, 
clothing,  or  articles  of  property  to  such  Indians  *  * 
as  become  parties  to  this  treaty,  but  no  farther.7'* 

This  treaty  marked  a  decided  advance  on  the  part  of 
the  Missouri  Sioux.  It  was  their  first  step  from  a  wan- 
dering to  a  settled  life.  Each  individual  might  still  elect 
whether  he  would  be  a  nomad  or  a  farmer,  but  special 
inducements  were  offered  him  to  be  the  latter.  The 
United  States  had  judged  it  impracticable  to  place  the 
restraints  of  an  agricultural  life  upon  the  nation  as  a 
whole,  without  consulting  individual  preferences.  There 
was  need  of  a  gradual  transition  from  barbarism  to  civ- 
ilization. Thus  even  those  who  should  choose  to  apply 
themselves  to  agriculture  were  not  wholly  debarred  from 
the  pleasures  of  the  chase.  The  right  to  hunt  on  the 

*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XV,  640. 

The  articles  of  this  treaty  not  mentioned  in  the  text  were  as  follows : 

Article  I  provided  that  peace  be  maintained,  and  that  offenses 
against  the  Indians  on  the  part  of  the  whites  and  vice  versa  be  punished. 

Article  III  provided  that  additional  arable  land  be  set  apart  in  case 
the  reservation  should  not  contain  enough  to  allow  each  authorized  per- 
son one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land. 

Article  V  provided  that  the  agent  reside  among  the  Indians  under 
his  charge  and  investigate  all  causes  of  complaint. 

Article  IX  gave  the  United  States  the  privilege  of  withdrawing  the 
physician,  farmer,  blacksmith,  carpenter,  engineer,  and  miller  after  ten 
years,  but  bound  it,  in  case  of  such  withdrawal,  to  pay  the  Indians  an 
additional  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  annually,  to  be  devoted  to  educa- 
tional purposes. 

Article  XIII  provided  that  physicians,  teachers,  carpenter,  miller, 
engineer,  farmer,  and  blacksmiths  be  furnished  the  Indians. 

Article  XIV  provided  that  five  hundred  dollars  annually  for  three 
years  from  date  be  expended  in  presents  and  distributed  to  the  ten  per- 
sons who  should  grow  the  most  valuable  crops. 

Article  XV  bound  the  Indians  to  consider  the  agency  their  home 
and  to  make  no  permanent  settlement  elsewhere.  U.  S.  Statutes  at 
Large,  XV,  635-40. 


116  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX   INDIANS. 

North  Platte  and  Republican  Fork  was  guaranteed  to  all, 
and  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  farmer  Indians,  when  not 
needed  at  home,  might  avail  themselves  of  it.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  effort  to  push  civilization  was  apparent 
in  the  educational  and  land-in-severalty  clauses,  as  also 
in  the  provision  to  confer  citizenship  upon  certain  In- 
dians who  should  conform  to  specified  conditions.  But 
the  essential  element  to  the  civilization  of  the  Sioux  was 
either  overlooked  or  neglected,  the  reservation  assigned 
to  them  being  largely  barren  and  subject  to  drought  and 
the  blight  of  the  grasshopper.  This  attempt  to  force 
an  agricultural  life  upon  barbarians,  under  circumstances 
that  would  have  discouraged  civilized  men,  promised  little 
success. 

A  feAv  of  the  wilder  bands  of  Sioux  were  not  party  to 
the  treaty  of  1868.  They  did  not  wish  to  enter  into  rela- 
tions with  the  United  States  Government  because  they 
felt  that  such  action  would  result  in  an  abridgement  of 
their  freedom.  These  bands,  and  most  notably  that  of 
Sitting  Bull,  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  hostiles  in  the 
war  of  1876. 

About  two-thirds  of  the  treaty  Indians  settled  upon,  or 
-at  least  kept  within  the  limits  of,  the  reservation  assigned 
to  them.  The  remaining  third,  principally  under  the 
leadership  of  Red  Cloud,  continued  to  roam  in  the  region 
of  the  Powder  River  and  Big  Horn  valleys.  That  they 
committed  some  depredations  is  undoubted,  but  these 
were  certainly  not  grave  enough  to  justify  General  Sher- 
idan's military  order  of  June  29,  1869.  It  read  as  fol- 
lows :  "  All  Indians  when  on  their  proper  reservations 
are  under  the  exclusive  control  and  jurisdiction  of  their 
agents  ;  *  *  *  outside  the  well-defined  limits  of 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO    1893.  11T 

their  reservations  they  are  under  the  original  and  exclu- 
sive jurisdiction  of  the  military  authority,  and  as  a  rule 
will  be  considered  hostile."*  This  order,  although  in 
direct  violation  of  the  treaty  of  1868,  continued  in  force 
until  December,  1876,  and  under  it  Indians  exercising 
the'  right  of  chase  legally  accorded  them  were  again  and 
again  hunted  down. 

The  Sioux  manifested  much  uneasiness  during  the 
winter  of  1869-70.  They  very  much  objected  to  the 
building  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad,  and  did  not 
seem  to  realize  that  they  had  granted  this  privilege  to 
the  United  States  in  Article  XI  of  their  late  treaty/  More- 
over, there  were  rumors  abroad  that  a  party  was  being 
formed  ostensibly  to  visit  the  Big  Horn  mountains,  but 
in  reality  to  explore  the  Black  Hills. f  The  Chicago 
Times  stated  that  this  party  would  comprise  about  two 
thousand  men  and  would  be  accompanied  by  three  hun- 
dred United  States  soldiers. J  The  Indians  were  greatly 

*  Keport  of  the  Sioux  Commission  of  1876  :  Report  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs  for  1876,  p.  340. 

t  These  were  within  the  Sioux  reservation. 

$  "  Colonel  Luke  Morrin,  Mayor  of  Cheyenne,  is  in  this  city,  organ- 
izing an  expedition  to  start  from  Omaha  and  Cheyenne  about  the  mid- 
dle of  April,  to  explore  the  Big  Horn  country,  three  hundred  miles 
north  of  Cheyenne.  This  region  of  territory  is  known  to  be  rich  in  min- 
eral and  agricultural  resources,  particularly  in  gold  quartz.  The  climate- 
is  good ;  the  country  is  traversed  by  large  rivers ;  is  well  watered,  and) 
for  farming  purposes  is  unequaled.  The  object  of  the  expedition  is  to* 
drive  out  the  Indians  and  bring  the  soil  under  the  control  of  those  who- 
will  develop  its  latent  treasures.  The  expedition  will  comprise  about* 
two  thousand  young  men,  accompanied  by  a  military  escort  of  three- 
hundred  soldiers  to  be  furnished  by  the  Government.  All  the  members 
of  the  expedition  will  be  armed  and  under  the  control  of  a  military  com- 
mander, to  be  chosen  by  themselves."  Extract  from  Chicago  Times^ 
February  8,1870:  Sen.  Docs.,  41st  Cong.,  2nd  Sess.,  Vol.  II,  No.  89,  p.  2, 


118  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

excited  by  these  rumors,  but  Government  forbade  the 
expedition  and  no  serious  harm  resulted.  Shortly  after- 
wards Red  Cloud,  together  with  fourteen  other  chiefs, 
visited  Washington,*  and  was  so  won  by  his  reception 
there  that  he  returned  home  a  staunch  friend  of  the 
whites.  From  this  time  on  he  exerted  his  influence  for 
peace  and  brought  many  of  the  wilder  Sioux  into  closer 
connection  with  the  United  States,  though  it  cannot  be 
said  that  he  ever  voluntarily  advanced  the  cause  of  civ- 
ilization. 

During  the  next  few  years  matters  went  on  smoothly 
enough:  It  is  true  that  whites  invaded  the  Indian  coun- 
try for  prospecting  and  other  purposes,  and  that  there 
were  conflicts  between  them  and  the  Indians,  but  there 
was  no  serious  trouble.  In  1874  the  excitement  was 
greatly  increased  by  a  military  reconnoitering  expedition 
under  General  Ouster,  which  had  for  its  object  the  ex- 
ploration of  the  Black  Hills.  Gold  was  found  and  min- 
ers immediately  rushed  in.  The  military  made  a  show 
of  keeping  out  these  unlawful  intruders,  but  it  was  plain 
that  their  sympathy  was  with  them.  The  Commissioner 
of  Indian  Affairs  for  1875  wrote  that  soldiers  were  to  be 
found  in  every  part  of  the  Sioux  reservation,  and  that 
thousands  of  miners  and  "  pilgrims "  were  "  swarming 
over  the  Sioux  country  and  digging  into  their  sacred 
hills  for  gold."  He  was  able  to  add  that  there  "  had 
been  no  fighting  under  all  this  provocation,  which  five 
years  "  before  "  would  have  brought  ten  thousand  paint- 


*  For  an  account  of  Red  Cloud's  visit,  with  extracts  from  the  daily 
papers,  see  Report  of  Board  of  Indian  Commissioners  for  1870,  pp. 
38-51. 


f*C\     C0 1700* 


THE    SIOUX    FROM    1850   TO    1893.  119 


ed  savages  into  the  field  for  a  war  which  would  not  have 
cost  less  than  fifty  millions/'* 

June,  1875,  the  Indians  of  Spotted  Tail  and  Red  Cloud 
agenciesf  sold  their  hunting  rights  to  land  in  Nebraska, 
except  a  small  portion  on  the  Niobrara  river,  receiving 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars  therefor. 

In  this  same  month  of  June  a  Commission  was  ap- 
pointed to  treat  with  the  Sioux  for  the  cession  of  the  Black 
Hills  and  the  Big  Horn-country,  and  three  months  later 
the  Commission  held  a  council  with  them.  It  was  found 
impossible,  however,  to  come  to  terms;  the  Indians  de- 
manding more  than  the  Commissioners  felt  authorized 
to  pay.J  That  the  Sioux  entertained  an  exaggerated  no- 
tion as  to  the  value  of  these  hills  to  the  United  States,  is 
doubtless  true.  Their  imaginations  had  been  worked 
upon  by  the  rapid  influx  of  eager  miners.  But  it  is  also 
true  that  the  hills  were  of  inestimable  worth  to  them. 
The  region  would  have  best  answered  their  paramount 
needs  in  entering  upon  their  new  life.  It  was  the  finest 
part  of  their  reservation  and  naturally  adapted  to  agri- 
culture and  herding.  The  fact  that  the  Indians  proba- 
bly did  not  realize  this  had  no  bearing  upon  the  ques- 
tion of  a  just  equivalent  for  the  cession.  The  Commis- 

*  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1875,  p.  29. 

t  For  the  agreement  between  these  Indians  and  the  United  States, 
see  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1875,  p.  179.  Com- 
missioners had  been  appointed  in  1873  and  in  1874  for  the  same  purpose, 
but  their  negotiations  had  been  unsuccessful.  The  Indians  of  the  other 
agencies  were  tolerably  well  settled  down  and  had  little  practical  inter- 
est in  these  hunting  grounds.  Hence  it  was  not  deemed  necessary  to 
make  an  agreement  with  them  for  the  relinquishuient  of  their  right. 

t  For  the  report  of  the  Commission,  see  Report  of  the  Commissioner 
of  Indian  Affairs  for  1875,  pp.  184-200. 


120  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

sion,  however,  did  not  regard  the  matter  in  this  light, 
and  advised  Congress  to  take  such  steps  as  should  force 
compliance  with  its  demands. 

There  were  at  this  time  a  number  of  Sioux  roaming 
over  Western  Dakota  and  Eastern  Montana  under  the 
leadership  of  Sitting  Bull  and  other  chiefs  of  less  note. 
These  Indians  had  no  treaty  relations  with  the  United 
States  Government  and  desired  none.  The}''  had  strenu- 
ously objected  to  the  building  of  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  through  their  hunting  grounds,  but  had  com- 
mitted no  organized  act  of  hostility.  They  had,  how- 
ever, been  guilty  of  various  depredations  and  were 
regarded  as  generally  unfriendly  to  the  United  States. 
November  9,  1875,  E.  C.  Watkins,  United  States  Indian 
Inspector,  addressed  certain  complaints  against  them 
to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs.  After  speak- 
ing of  their  defiance  of  law  and  authority,  he  stated 
that  they  numbered  only  a  few  hundred  warriors  and 
advised  that  troops  be  sent  against  them  to  "  whip  them 
into  subjection."*  On  November  27  this  letter  was 
transmitted  by  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,!  and  two  days  later  by  the  lat- 
ter to  the  Secretary  of  War.J  December  3  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  sent  word  to  the  Secretary  of  War 
that  he  had  notified  the  "  Indians  that  they  must  remove 
to  a  reservation  before  the  31st  day  of  January  next/' 
and  that  if  they  neglected  to  do  so  they  would  be  regard- 

*  For  the  letter  of  E.  C.  Watkins,  United  States  Indian  Inspector, 
to  Hon.  E.  P.  Smith,  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  see  Ex.  Docs., 
44th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Vol.  XIV,  No.  184,  pp.  8-9. 

t  Ex  Docs.,  44th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Vol.  XIV,  No.  184,  p.  7. 
t  Ibid.,  10. 


THE   SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO   1893.  121 

ed  as  hostile  and  a  military  force  "  be  sent  against  them 
to  compel  them  to  obey  the  orders  of  the  Indian  office."* 

A  large  number  of  Indians  were  at  this  time  absent 
from  the  reservation,  insufficient  appropriations  having 
compelled  many  to  resort  to  the  chase  for  subsistence. 
The  same  cause  had  induced  a  few  to  join  Sitting  Bull. 
It  was  midwinter,  and  most  of  these  were  a  long  distance 
from  home.  The  Sioux  Commission  of  1876,  appointed 
to  purchase  the  Black  Hills,  stated  in  their  report  that  it 
did  "not  appear  that  any  one  of  the  messengers  sent  out 
by  the  agents  was  able  to  return  to  his  agency  by  the 
time  which  had  been  fixed  for  the  return  of  the  In- 
dians, "f  It  is  certain  that  the  messenger  sent  from 
Cheyenne  river  was  unable  to  get  back  before  February 
11  ;J  and  he  reported  that  the  Indians  received  the 
warning  in  good  spirit  and  without  any  exhibition  of  ill 
feeling.  They  answered  that  they  were  hunting  buffalo 
and  could  not  immediately  return,  but  would  visit  the 
agency  early  in  spring.  Other  runners  also  brought  in- 
formation of  the  friendly  disposition  of  the  Indians. § 

The  state  of  the  case,  then,  was  this  :  An  order  was 
issued  commanding  all  Sioux  Indians  off  their  reserva- 
tions to  return  by  January  31,  1876. ||  Not  sufficient 


*Ibid.,  10. 

t  Keport  of  the  Sioux  Commission :  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs  for  1876,  p.  342. 

t  See  letter  of  H.W.  Bingham,  United  States  Indian  Agent,  to  Hon. 
J.  Q.  Smith,  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs:  Ex.  Docs.,  44  Cong.,  1st 
Sess.,  Vol.  XIV,  p.  26. 

§  Ibid.,  22. 

II  See  Letter  of  Z.  Chandler,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  to  the  Hon.  Sec- 
retary of  War :  Ex.  Doc.,  44th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Vol.  XIV,  No.  184,  p.  10. 


122  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

time  was  allowed  the  Indians  to  comply  with  this  order, 
and  promptly  on  February  1  they  were  turned  over  to  the 
War  Department.* 

The  campaign  was  immediately  begun,  the  first  action 
of  importance  being  the  destruction  of  the  village  of 
Crazy  Horse  made  up  of  friendly  "  Indians  who  had  sep- 
arated from  Sitting  Bull  and  were  on  their  return  to  their 
several  agencies."!  After  this  attack  inclement  weather 
forced  the  troops  to  return  to  Fort  Fetterman,  where  they 
remained  until  May.  They  then  took  the  field  again. 
June  25  occurred  the  Battle  of  the  Little  Big  Horn,  which 
resulted  in  the  complete  annihilation  of  General  Ouster's 
five  companies.  The  loss  of  the  Indians  has  been  various- 
ly estimated  as  from  forty  to  one  hundred. 

Meanwhile  Congress  had  taken  action  upon  the  report 
of  the  Black  Hills  Sioux  Commission,  and,  whether  upon 
the  spur  of  its  recommendation  or  not,  had  passed  an  act* 


*  See  Letter  of  Z.  Chandler,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  to  the  Hon. 
Secretary  of  War :  Ibid.,  17-18. 

t  Letter  from  General  H.  H.  Sibley  :  Eighth  Annual  Report  Board 
of  Indian  Commissioners,  21.  Rev.  Thos.  S.  Williamson  also  makes  this 
statement,  quoting  as  his  authority  Dr.  J.  W.  Daniels,  Indian  Agent  and 
Inspector,  and  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  1876  who  obtained  the  ces- 
sion of  the  Black  Hills  :  Minn.  Hist.  Colls.,  Ill,  291. 

In  his  report  for  1877,  p.  15,  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
speaks  of  this  camp  as  hostile,  but,  since  he  refers  us  to  the  report  of  the 
Secretary  of  War  for  a  detailed  account  of  the  campaign,  it  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  he  obtained  his  information  from  this  source.  The  Secretary 
of  War  based  his  report  upon  the  documents  and  reports  of  the  generals 
and  their  subordinates;  and  a  careful  perusal  of  these  brings  to  light 
many  inconsistencies  and  inaccuracies. 

i  Indian  Appropriation  Act,  passed  August  15, 1876.  Quoted  in  the 
report  of  the  Sioux  Commission :  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  for  1876,  p.  334. 


I 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO    1893.  123 


providing  that  thereafter  no  money  should  be  appropri- 
ated for  the  subsistence  of  these  Sioux  until  they  should 
relinquish  their  claim  to  all  land  outside  their  reserva- 
tion, and  should  cede  that  part  of  their  reservation  which 
la}7  west  of  the  one  hundred  arid  third  meridian  of  longi- 
tude. This  last  embraced  the  Black  Hills  country.  On 
August  24  a  Commission  was  appointed  to  treat  with  the 
Sioux.  The  Indians  were  at  this  time  in  sad  straits. 
Food  was  scarce*  and  hunting  off  the  reservation  had 
been  prohibited.  They  were  more  keenly  aware  than 
ever  of  their  dependence  upon  the  United  States.  Under 
these  circumstances  an  agreementf  was  soon  reached. 
The  Sioux  made  the  desired  land  cession,  and  consented 
to  allow  three  roads  to  be  built  westward  through  their 
reservation.  In  return  the  Government  promised  to 
issue  rations  to  the  Indians  until  they  should  become 
self-supporting,  and  to  assist  them  toward  civilization  by 
furnishing  them  with  "  schools  and  instruction  in 
mechanical  and  agricultural  arts  as  provided  for  by  the 
treaty  of  1868. "J  Rations  were  not  to  be  issued  to  chil- 
dren between  the  ages  of  six  and  fourteen  years  who  did 
not  regularly  attend  school,  nor  to  persons  who  did  not 
labor,  the  sick  and  infirm  excepted.  Special  provision 
was  made  to  aid  those  who  should  select  land  in  severalty.§ 


*  See  Ex.  Docs.,  44th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  Vol.  XIV,  No.  184,  pp.  58-9. 

t  See  Articles  of  Agreement :  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Af- 
fairs for  1876,  pp.  349-51. 

:  Ibid.,  350. 

§  "  Whenever  the  head  of  a  family  shall  in  good  faith  select  an  al- 
,lotment  of  land  upon  such  reservation  and  engage  in  the  cultivation 
thereof,  the  Government  shall,  with  his  aid,  erect  a  comfortable  house 
on  such  allotment."  Articles  of  Agreement,  Article  6  :  Report  of  Com- 
missioner of  Indian  Affairs  for  3876,  p.  350. 


124  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

Some  of  the  tribes  agreed  to  visit  the  Indian  Territory, 
and,  if  favorably  impressed  with  the  country,  to  select  a 
permanent  home  there.  This  article  was  made  of  110 
effect  by  a  provision  in  the  act  of  February  28, 1877,  pro- 
hibiting the  removal  of  any  Sioux  to  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory until  authorized  by.  Congress. 

In  the  eighth  article  of  the  agreement  of  1876  the 
United  States  had  promised  to  protect  the  Sioux  in  their 
"  rights  of  property,  person,  and  life."*  But  hardly  a 
month  had  elapsed  before  the  agency  Indians  were  dis- 
mounted and  disarmed,!  and  this  despite  the  fact  that 
the  Government  had  recognized  them  as  friendly  and 
had  provided  them  with  such  insufficient  subsistence  as 
to  make  recourse  to  the  chase  necessary.  Some  of  the 
ponies  were  afterwards  sold,  the  Indians  receiving  the 
proceeds  of  the  sale  in  the  form  of  cattle,  but  the  returns 
were  miserably  small. J 

Meanwhile  the  war  with  the  hostiles  still  continued. 
In  October,  1876,  two  councils  were  held  with  Sitting 
Bull,  but  nothing  came  of  them.  Soon  after  some  of  the 
Indians  surrendered.  Sitting  Bull  and  a  portion  of  his 
following,  however,  escaped  north  and  crossed  over  into 
Canada,  the  number  of  these  refugees  gradually  swelling 
to  two  hundred  lodges.  June  20,  18J7,  the  United  States 
was  officially  notified  by  the  Privy  Council  of  Canada 
that  these  Indians  were  within  the  British  Possessions, 


*  Articles  of  Agreement :  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
for  1876,  p.  351. 

t  Abridgment  of  Message  and  Documents,  1876-77,  p.  385 ;  Many- 
penny,  Our  Indian  Wards,  314-15. 

J  The  Indians  were  reimbursed  for  this  loss  in  1889.     See  Report  of 
the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affair's  for  1891,  p.  138. 


§THE    SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO    1893.  125 

nd  was  requested  to  take  such  steps  as  should  induce 
hem,  and  any  others  who  might  "  similarly  cross  the 
oundary  line,  to  return  to  their  reserves  in  the  United 
States  territory."*  Accordingly,  a  Commission  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  President  to  treat  with  Sitting  Bull  for 
his  peaceable  return,  but  he  and  his  chiefs  declined  all 
proposals  and  stated  that  they  wished  to  remain  where 
they  were.  The  Canadian  authorities  warned  them  that 
they  could  expect  no  help  from  Great  Britain,  and  that 
crossing  the  line  into  the  United  States  would  be  regard- 
ed as  an  act  of  hostility  by  both  Governments.  The 
Indians,  however,  still  adhered  to  their  former  decision. f 
Thus  ended  the  Sioux  war  of  1876.J: 

The  treaty  of  1868  had  contemplated  the  ultimate  set- 
tlement of  all  the  Sioux  of  the  Plains  upon  the  large 
reservation.  In  1875  the  hunting  privilege  on  the  North 
Platte  and  Republican  Fork  had  been  surrendered,  and 
in  1877  the  hostile  Sioux  had  either  fled  to  Canada  or 
submitted  to  the  military.  Thus  by  1880  all  the  Mis- 
souri Sioux  were  on  the  reservation  except  about  four 
thousand  seven  hundred  Yanktonnais,  who  were  at  Fort 
Peck,  and  one  thousand  one  hundred  Northern  Sioux, 
who  had  deserted  Sitting  Bull's  camp  and  were  roaming 
and  hunting  just  this  side  of  the  boundary  line  between 
Canada  and  the  United  States. 


*  Quoted  in  the  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for 
1877,  p.  17. 

+  The  greater  number  of  these  Indians  subsequently  returned  and 
proved  themselves  an  element  of  great  disturbance.  They  were  largely 
responsible  for  the  Sioux  trouble  in  1890. 

$  For  official  documents  relating  to  this  war,  see  Report  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  War  for  1875-6  and  1876-7  :  Ex.  Docs.,  44th  Cong.,  1st  Sess., 
Vol.  XIV,  No.  184  ;  Messages  and  Documents,  1876-7,  403-417. 


126  RELATIONS   WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

It  was  supposed  that,  once  definitely  restricted  by 
reservation  limits,  the  Sioux  would  apply  themselves  to 
agriculture  and  steadily  advance  in  civilization.  The 
provisions  of  the  treaty  of  1868  and  those  of  the  agree- 
ment of  1876  had  looked  toward  this  end.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  however,  the  Indians  made  very  little  progress 
during  the  next  few  years.  This  was  owing  to  several 
causes.  Sterile  soil,  drought,  and  scorching  winds  made 
even  fair  crops  a  rarity.  Moreover,  the  Indians  were 
given  no  incentive  to  work.  Government  had  promised 
to  aid  them  until  they  should  become  self-supporting, 
and  it  fulfilled  its  obligations  to  the  letter,  apparently 
not  realizing  its  duty  to  help  them  become  self-support- 
ing. It  had  entirely  forgotten  that  clause  in  the  agree- 
ment of  1876,  which  provided  that  no  rations  should  be 
issued  to  children  between  the  ages  of  six  and  fourteen 
who  did  not  attend  school,  nor  to  persons  who  did  not 
work.  Indeed,  it  failed  to  provide  schools.  In  1883 
there  was  not  one  school  among  the  eight  thousand  people 
on  Rosebud  reserve  ;  *  and  during  that  year  Government 
expended  only  fourteen  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
ninety-six  dollars  in  the  education  of  these  twenty-four 
thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty  Sioux.f 

The  appointment  of  Indian  agents  on  the  spoils  system 
was  another  serious  detriment  to  the  welfare  of  the  In- 
dians. Frequently  the  agents  were  unreliable,  more 
frequently  still  utterly  unacquainted  with  their  duties 
and  careless  of  their  responsibilities. 

Other  causes  for  the  stagnation  of  the  Indians  were 


*  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1883,  p.  39. 
t  Compiled  from  Statistics  in  the  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian 
Affairs  for  1882,  pp.  316-347. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO    1893.  127 

the  excitement  and  restlessness  resulting  from  the  war  of 
1876  and  the  frequent  changes  in  the  location  of  some  of 
the  agencies,  those  of  Spotted  Tail  and  Red  Cloud  being 
removed  some  three  or  four  times.  By  1880  these 
removals  had  ceased  and  the  Indians  then  found  them- 
selves under  the  control  of  six  agencies — Standing  Rock, 
Cheyenne  River,  Crow  Creek,  Lower  Brule,*  Pine  Ridge, 
and  Rosebud.  The  condition  of  the  different  bands 
varied,  depending  upon  the  character  of  the  Indians,  the 
soil  and  climate,  and  the  agent.  But,  all  told,  they  had 
cultivated  only  three  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
four  acres  and  owned  only  nine  thousand  four  hundred 
and  forty-four  cattle  and  four  hundred  and  fourteen 
swine. f  Certainly  they  had  not  accomplished  much 
along  two  of  the  main  civilizing  lines,  agriculture  and 
stock-raising. 

Thus  far  the  Sioux  had  not  done  very  well,  but  from 
1880  to  1890  they  made  more  encouraging  progress. 
The  annual  rainfall  during  the  eighties  was  greater  than 
usual  and  crops  were  correspondingly  better.  Congress 
made  increased  appropriations  for  skilled  labor.  More 
and  better  schools  were  provided,  and  competent  teachers 
employed.  At  some  of  the  agencies  the  Indians  freighted 
the  Government  supplies  and  were  found  efficient  and 
trustworthy,  giving  perfect  satisfaction  to  their  employ- 
ers. This  decade  also  witnessed  rapid  growth  in  the 
stock-raising  industry,  the  only  industry  for  which  much 
of  the  country  was  fitted.  The  reforms  characteristic  of 
this  period  took  root  here  also.  Indian  police  forces  and 


*  Crow  Creek  and  Lower  Brule  were  consolidated  August  22,  1882. 
t  See  Table  of  Statistics,  No.  1. 


128  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

courts  of  Indian  offenses  were  organized  and  worked 
well ;  and  the  enforcement  of  the  Indian  Crimes  Act  of 
1885  helped  to  maintain  order. 

There  was,  however,  one  source  of  unrest  to  the  Sioux 
during  these  years.  This  was  the  constant  agitation 
which  went  on  for  the  reduction  of  their  reservation. 
However  advisable  such  a  reduction  may  have  been,  and 
events  subsequently  proved  that  it  was  advisable,  it  was 
unfortunate  that  agitation  concerning  a  measure  to  which 
the  Sioux  were  so  strongly  opposed  should  have  contin- 
ued so  long.  The  Commission*  sent  to  them  in  1882 
found  them  little  inclined  to  treat.  They  stated  that 
they  were  perfectly  satisfied  with  the  treaty  stipulations 
under  which  they  were  living  and  desired  no  change  ; 
that  every  agreement  with  the  United  States  gave  them 
fewer  rights  than  they  had  had  before.  Nevertheless, 
some  of  them  signed  the  agreement  presented  by  the 
Commissioners,  and  this  agreement  was  laid  before  Con- 
gress. At  this  point  the  friends  of  the  Indians  inter- 
posed. They  advocated  the  partition  of  the  Great  Sioux 
Reservation,  but  objected  to  this  particular  instrument 
of  partition.  They  maintained,  and  with  truth,  that  it 
had  not  been  signed  by  three-fourths  of  the  male  adult 
population,  and  that  such  signatures  were  necessary  ac- 
cording to  the  treaty  of  1868  before  that  treaty  could  in 
any  way  be  modified ;  that  the  consideration  for  the  ces- 
sion was  inadequate  ;  that  no  comprehensive  plan  had 
been  outlined  for  the  civilization  of  the  Indians  ;  and 
that  unjust  and  improper  means  had  been  used  to  gain 


*  For  the  Report  of  the  Commission,  together  with  other  documents 
pertaining  to  the  same  subject,  see  Sen.  Docs.,  48th  Cong.,  1st  Sess., 
Tol.  IV,  No.  70. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM   1850  TO   1893.  129 

their  consent.*  Accordingly,  the  bill  was  not  passed. 
The  Commission  was  instructed  to  continue  negotiations, 
but  it  failed  to  obtain  the  signatures  of  the  requisite 
three-fourths. 

In  1887  negotiations  were  renewed.  An  agreement 
was  drawn  up  whose  terms  were  decidedly  more  advan- 
tageous to  the  Indians  than  those  of  1882,  but  it  did  not 
meet  their  approval.  Finally  this  agreement  was  amend- 
ed and  presented  by  a  new  Commission. f  This  time  a 
three-fourths  vote  was  obtained,  and  the  agreement!  was 
approved  by  the  President  March  2,  1889,  and  became 
law.  The  terms  were  exceedingly  liberal.  The  Sioux 
ceded  to  the  United  States  about  nine  million  acres  of 
land.  The  remainder  of  the  reservation  was  to  be  divided 
into  six  smaller  reserves,  and  each  Indian  was  to  have 
a  claim  only  to  the  land  in  that  reserve  where  he  re- 
ceived his  rations.  Land  was  to  be  allotted  in  severalty 
according  to  the  Dawes  bill  of  1887.  Thirty  school- 
houses  were  to  be  immediately  erected,  and  the  educa- 
tional provision  of  the  treaty  of  1868  was  to  continue  in 
force  until  1909.  Each  head  of  a  family  or  single  person 
over  eighteen  years  of  age  who  should  take  land  in  sev- 
eralty was  to  be  provided  "with  two  milch  cows,  one 
pair  of  oxen,  with  yoke  and  chain,  or  two  mares  and  set 
of  harness  in  lieu  of  said  oxen,  yoke,  and  chain,  *  *  * 
one  plow,  one  wagon,  one  harrow,  one  hoe,  one  axe,  and 


*  See  Fifteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Board  of  Indian  Commission- 
ers, 1883,  34-35,  40-41. 

t  For  a  full  report  of  the  proceedings  of  this  Commission,  see  Sen. 
Ex.  Docs.,  51st  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  No.  51,  pp.  15-308. 

}  See  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1889,  pp.  449- 
458. 


130  RELATIONS   WITH   THE    SIOUX   INDIANS. 

one  pitchfork,  *  *  *  and  also  fifty  dollars  in  cash."* 
The  money  was  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  in  aiding  such  an  Indian  to 
erect  a  house  and  other  buildings  suitable  for  residence 
or  in  the  improvement  of  his  allotment.  Three  million 
dollars  were  to  be  given  the  Sioux  as  a  permanent  fund 
drawing  five  per  cent,  interest,  one-half  of  said  interest  to 
be  appropriated  for  "  industrial  and  other  suitable  educa- 
tion," and  the  other  half  for  such  purposes,  "  including 
reasonable  cash  payments  per  capita,"  as  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior  should  judge  would  most  contribute  to 
the  advancement  of  the  Indians  "  in  civilization  and  self- 
support."  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  received  discre- 
tionary power  to  expend  annually  not  exceeding  ten  per 
cent,  of  the  principal  "  in  the  employment  of  farmers  and 
in  the  purchase  of  agricultural  implements,  teams,  seeds," 
and  "  in  reasonable  cash  payments."  The  remainder  of 
the  fund  was  to  be  expended  for  the  Indians  at  the  end 
of  fifty  years  in  such  manner  as  Congress  should  deter- 
mine. 

The  terms  of  this  agreement  were  most  generous,  and 
it  seemed  as  though  their  fulfillment  must  insure  a  de- 
cided advance  on  the  part  of  the  Sioux.  The  size  of  the 
reservation  had  been  an  impediment  to  the  civilization 
of  the  Indians,  as  well  as  a  hindrance  to  the  spread  of  the 
whites.  The  Sioux  had  been  shut  in  by  themselves,  had 
lacked  stimulating  contact  with  a  civilized  population.  It 
was  a  well  known  fact  that  the  Yanktonnais  at  Crow 
Creek,  who  were  not  thus  isolated  from  our  people,  made 


*  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1889,  pp.  454-5. 


THE    SIOUX   FKOM    1850   TO    1893.  131 

more  rapid  progress  than  their  kinsmen  nearer  the  cen- 
ter of  the  great  Reservation.* 

The  fifteen  years  preceding  this  agreement  had  wit- 
nessed the  steady  development  of  two  distinct  parties 
among  the  Sioux.  There  were  those  who  adapted  them- 
selves to  the  new  order  and  gradually  acquired,  at  least 
to  some  extent,  the  habits  and  customs  of  civilized  life. 
These  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  progressive  party  in 
whose  ranks  were  to  be  found  nearly  all  who  had  been 
Christianized  and  who  were  really  friendly  to  the  United 
States.  Opposed  to  these  were  those  who  clung  to  the 
old  order  and  who  resisted  every  advance  of  civilization. 
These  were  antagonistic  to  every  innovation,  and  awaited 
only  an  occasion  to  display  their  hatred  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. It  was  inevitable  that  there  should  be  these 
two  parties.  Hardly  twenty  years  had  passed  since  these 
Indians  had  roamed  the  plains  at  will  and  subsisted 
almost  entirely  by  the  chase.  Only  those  who  possessed 
most  adaptability  could  adjust  themselves  in  so  short  a 
time  to  the  new  environment.  The  existence  of  this  pa- 
gan party  was,  therefore,  most  natural,  but  the  fact  does 
not  exonerate  the  Government  from  blame  ;  it  should 
have  made  provision  to  control  it.  The  lack  of  foresight 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States  was  largely  responsible 
for  the  so-called  " outbreak"  of  1890. 

The  cession  of  1889,  despite  the  liberal  compensation, 
had  not  been  favored  by  all  the  Sioux.  There  was  a  small 
minority  that  had  bitterly  opposed  it.  Even  those  who 
had  signed  the  agreement  had  relinquished  nine  million 
acres  of  land  with  some  reluctance.  They  doubtless 


*  This  may  be  seen  from  a  careful  comparison  of  the  civilization 
statistics  in  the  reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs. 


132  RELATIONS   WITH   THE   SIOUX   INDIANS, 

realized  that  a  more  determined  effort  was  to  be  made  to 
civilize  them,  and  they  felt  a  vague  unrest  as  to  the 
future.  This  was  accentuated  by  the  partial  failure  of 
crops  in  1889  and  in  1890,*  and  great  mortality  resulting 
from  the  grippe,  measles,  and  whooping-cough.  The  In- 
dians said  their  children  were  all  dying  from  diseases 
introduced  by  the  whites. 

This  state  of  affairs  made  it  particularly  unfortunate 
that  the  issue  of  rations  should  have  been  cut  down  at  this 
time.  While  negotiations  for  the  cession  were  pending, 
the  Indians  had  asked  again  and  again  whether  the  new 
agreement  would  result  in  their  receiving  less  rations, 
and  had  been  assured  that  it  would  not.f  Yet  large  re- 
ductions in  beef  were  made  at  the  various  agencies, 
amounting  at  Rosebud  to  two  million  and  at  Pine  Ridge 
to  one  million  pounds.  Moreover,  various  provisions  in 
the  agreement  were  not  promptly  fulfilled,  among  them 
those  providing  for  appropriations  for  education  and  for 
the  payment  for  the  ponies  taken  in  1876-7.  Besides 

*  In  addition  to  this  partial  failure,  the  crops  at  Pine  Ridge  were 
trampled  down  or  eaten  by  cattle  which  had  broken  into  the  fields 
while  the  Indians  were  at  the  agency  treating  with  the  Commissioners. 
Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1891,  I,  133;  Scribner's 
Magazine,  April,  1891,  446. 

1 1  cannot  do  better  than  quote  the  words  of  the  Commission  on 
this  point:  "During  our  conference  at  the  different  agencies  we  were 
repeatedly  asked  whether  the  acceptance  or  rejection  of  the  act  of  Con- 
gress would  influence  the  action  of  the  Government  with  reference  to 
their  rations,  and  in  every  instance  the  Indians  were  assured  that  sub- 
sistence was  furnished  in  accordance  with  former  treaties,  and  that  sign- 
ing would  not  affect  their  rations,  and  that  they  would  continue  to 
receive  them  as  provided  in  former  treaties.  Without  our  assurances  to 
this  effect  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  have  secured  their  consent 
to  the  cession  of  lands."  Report  and  Proceedings  of  the  Sioux  Commis- 
sion :  Sen.  Ex.  Docs.,  51st  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  No.  51,  p.  23. 


THE   SIOUX   FROM   1850  TO   1893.  133 

these,  there  were  other  causes  which  added  to  the  gloom 
and  misfortune  of  the  Indians.* 

Matters  were  in  this  critical  state  when  the  report  of  a 
Messiah  spread  among  the  Sioux.f  It  was  said  that  he 
had  declared  that  their  term  of  humiliation  and  punish- 
ment  was  at  an  end  ;  that  they  were  now  to  become  the 
dominant  race  upon  the  continent,  and  were  to  avenge 
the  wrongs  which  had  been  heaped  upon  them  by  the 
whites.  Their  dead  were  to  be  raised  up  and  their 
ponies  and  hunting  grounds  restored.  It  was  enjoined 
upon  all  who  believed  in  the  Messiah  to  show  their  faith 
in  him  by  repeated  "ghost  dances,"  each  dance  to  be 
prolonged  until  the  strength  of  the  dancer  was  exhaust- 
ed, or  he  swooned. 

This  strange  delusion  immediately  laid  hold  of  some 
of  the  non-progressive  Indians  that  were  superstitious 
enough  to  believe  it.  Others  became  converts  because 


*  The  disease  of  blackleg  had  appeared  among  the  cattle  in  1888. 
The  agreement  of  1889  had  changed  the  boundary  line  between  Pine 
Ridge  and  Rosebud,  and  some  of  the  Indians  at  the  latter  reserve  had 
been  obliged  to  change  their  location.  This  caused  a  certain  amount  of 
discomfort.  The  census  of  the  Indians  had  revealed  the  fact  that  their 
number  was  decidedly  less  than  that  upon  which  the  issue  of  rations 
was  based,  and  this  meant  a  diminution  of  rations.  Report  of  Commis- 
sioner of  Indian  Affairs  for  1891, 1, 133-4. 

t  It  did  not  originate  with  them.  According  to  Rev.  W.  J.  Cleve- 
land, who  made  an  extended  investigation  into  the  matter,  the  Indians 
said  that  the  report  came  "from  the  people  who  wear  rabbit-skin  blan- 
kets, *  *  *  far  west  of  the  Yellow  Skins,  who  are  far  west  of  the 
Utes."  Mr.  Herbert  Welsh  thinks  that  by  these  may  be  meant  the 
Pueblo  Indians  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  because,  I  quote  his  words, 
**  they  wear  rabbit-skin  blankets,  live  far  west  of  the  Utes,  and,  more- 
over, hold  the  old  Aztec  tradition  of  Montezuma,  their  Savior,  return- 
ing to  free  their  race."  The  Meaning  of  the  Dakota  Outbreak:  Scrib- 
ner's  Magazine,  April,  1891,  p.  446. 


134  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

they  felt  that  in  so  doing  they  might  find  an  opportun- 
ity to  throw  off  the  fetters  of  civilization.  But  the  num- 
ber of  those  influenced  would  probably  have  been  very 
small  had  it  not  been  for  the  Sitting  Bull  faction.  This 
was  largely  made  up  of  those  who  had  fled  to  Canada  in 
the  war  of  1876,  had  returned  four  or  five  years  later, 
and  were  now  at  Standing  Rock.  Sitting  Bull  himself 
was  the  chief  mischief-maker,  and  it  was  largely  through 
his  efforts  that  the  craze  gained  a  firm  footing  at  his  agency. 

Meanwhile  the  excitement  laid  hold  of  the  Sioux  at 
Pine  Ridge,  Rosebud,  and  Cheyenne  River,  though  there 
were  fewer  converts  than  at  Standing  Rock.  Ghost 
dances  became  frequent ;  industrial  occupations  were 
neglected,  and  a  general  demoralization  ensued.  Matters 
grew  worse  as  the  summer  advanced.  Sitting  Bull's 
runners  were  active,  hurrying  here  and  there,  rousing 
this  and  that  band,  and  always  appealing  to  the  lowest 
and  most  ignorant. 

As  early  as  June,  1890,  there  had  been  rumors  afloat 
that  the  Sioux  were  secretly  planning  to  rise,  but  the  re- 
ports of  the  Indian  agents  indicated  that  there  were  no 
grounds  for  apprehending  serious  trouble.  The  proba- 
bility of  an  outbreak  grew  with  the  increase  of  disturbance 
during  the  summer  and  early  autumn,  and  in  No- 
vember the  attitude  of  some  of  the  Indians  was  decidedly 
unfriendly.  The  agents  at  Pine  Ridge,  Rosebud,  and 
Cheyenne  River  reported  that  the  Sioux  were  arming, 
and  November  13  the  Indian  Office  recommended  that 
the  matter  be  submitted  to  the  War  Department.  The 
action  of  this  department  was  precipitated  by  a  telegram* 
from  Agent  Royer  of  Pine  Ridge,  dated  November  15. 

*  See  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1891,  I,  128. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO   1893.  135 

The  telegram  seems  to  have  been  prompted  by  no  spec- 
ial exigency.  Agent  Royer  stated  that  the  Indians  were 
"  wild  and  crazy  "  and  were  dancing  in  the  snow  ;  and 
that  the  employees  and  Government  property  were  with- 
out protection.  He  urged  that  the  leaders  be  arrested  at 
once.  Five  days  later  a  military  force  of  five  companies 
of  infantry  and  three  troops  of  cavalry  arrived  at  Pine 
Ridge.  Troops  were  ordered  to  other  Sioux  agencies 
also.  When  the  detachment  sent  to  Rosebud  reached 
that  reservation,  "about  one  thousand  Indians — men, 
women,  and  children — stampeded  toward  Pine  Ridge  and 
the  bad  lands,  destroying  their  own  property  before  leav- 
ing, and  that  of  others  en  route/'* 

During  this  time  Sitting  Bull's  camp  at  Grand  River, 
forty  miles  from  Standing  Rock  agency,  had  been  the 
center  of  great  disturbance.  December  15  he  was  ar- 
rested by  a  force  of  Indian  police.  "  He  agreed  to  ac- 
company them  to  the  agency,  but  while  dressing  caused 
considerable  delay,  and  during  this  time  his  followers 
began  to  congregate  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty,  so  that  when  he  was  brought  out  of  the  house  they 
had  the  police  entirely  surrounded.  Sitting  Bull  then 
refused  to  go  and  called  upon  his  friends,  the  ghost 
dancers,  to  rescue  him.  At  this  juncture  one  of  them 
shot  Lieutenant  Bullhead.  The  lieutenant  then  shot 
Sitting  Bull,  who  also  received  another  shot  and  was 
killed  outright.  Another  shot  struck  Sergeant  Shave- 
head  and  then  the  firing  became  general.  In  about  two 
hours  the  police  had  secured  possession  of  Sitting  Bull's 
house  and  driven  their  assailants  into  the  woods."f 


*  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1891,  I,  128. 
t  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1891,  I,  129. 


136  RELATIONS    WITH   THE    SIOUX   INDIANS. 

Meanwhile  "  groups  of  Indians  from  the  different 
reservations  had  commenced  concentrating  in  the  'bad 
lands '  upon  or  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Pine  Ridge  reser- 
vation. Killing  of  cattle  and  destruction  of  other  prop- 
erty by  these  Indians  almost  entirely  within  the  limits  of 
Pine  Ridge  and  Rosebud  reservations  occurred,  but  no 
signal  fires  were  built,  no  warlike  demonstrations  were 
made,  no  violence  was  done  to  any  white  settler,  nor  was 
there  cohesion  or  organization  among  the  Indians  them- 
selves. Many  of  them  were  friendly  Indians  who  had 
never  participated  in  the  ghost  dance  but  had  fled  thither 
from  fear  of  soldiers,  *  *  or  through  over-persuasion 
of  friends.  The  military  gradually  began  to  close  in 
around  them,  and  they  offered  no  resistance,  and  a 
speedy  and  quiet  capitulation  of  all  was  confidently 
expected."* 

Among  these  Indians  was  Big  Foot's  band.  This  left 
the  bad  lands  and  started  toward  Pine  Ridge  agency, 
and  meeting  our  troops  proposed  a  parley  with  them. 
Upon  being  refused  they  surrendered  unconditionally, 
but  turned  over  to  the  military  very  few  arms.  Their 
teepees  were  searched  and  sixty  guns  were  found.  A 
detachment  of  troops  was  then  ordered  to  take  the  arms 
from  their  persons,  and  while  this  was  going  on  a  shot 
was  fired.f  "  A  short,  sharp,  indiscriminate  fight  imme- 
diately followed,  and,  during  the  fighting  and  the  subse- 
quent flight  and  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  the  troops  lost 
twenty-five  killed  and  thirty-five  wounded,  and  of  the 
Indians,  eighty-four  men  and  boys,  forty-four  women, 


*  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1891,  I,  130. 
t  Probably  by  a  crazy  Indian. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM   1850  TO   1893.  137 

f 

and  eighteen  children  were  killed,  and  at  least  thirty- 
three  were  wounded,  many  of  them  fatally."*  The  fact 
that  so  many  women  and  children  were  killed  speaks  ill 
for  our  soldiers.  According  to  the  Indian  accountf  these 
women  and  children  were  indiscriminately  massacred 
even  under  the  flag  of  truce  ;  and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  there  is  some  truth  in  this  assertion. 

The  result  of  the  fight  at  Wounded  Knee  Creek  was 
a  further  concentration  of  the  Indians  upon  the  bad 
lands,  and  January  6,  1891,  Major-General  Schofield 
ordered  that  army  officers  be  assigned  to  the  Sioux 
agencies  to  exercise  "  military  supervision  and  control," 
but  "  without  interfering  unnecessarily  with  the  admin- 
istration of  the  agents  of  the  Indian  Bureau."]:  During 
the  next  few  weeks  there  were  some  skirmishes,  but  in 
less  than  a  month  the  Indians  had  returned  to  their 
agencies  and  all  serious  trouble  was  practically  over.§ 

Shortly  after  a  Commission  from  the  Sioux  visited 
Washington  and  were  given  an  opportunity  to  state  their 
grievances.  The  difficulties  were  for  the  most  part 
settled  by  the  Indian  appropriations  made  in  the  acts  of 


*  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1891, 1, 130. 

t  For  the  Indian  account  of  the  fight  at  Wounded  Knee  Creek,  see 
Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1891, 1,  Appendix,  pp. 
179-181.  This  account,  although  given  wholly  from  the  Indian  stand- 
point and,  therefore,  probably  a  little  one-sided,  bears  the  stamp  of 
sincerity. 

t  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1891, 1,  131. 

§  For  a  full  and  most  excellent  account  of  this  so-called  Sioux  "  out- 
break," see  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1891, 1,  pp. 
123-142. 


138  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

January  19*  and  March  3,  1891. f  Congress  had  then 
complied  with  all  its  treaty  stipulations,  and  fulfilled  the 
promises  made  by  the  Sioux  Commission  of  1889,  except 
that  it  had  not  provided  for  the  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven  thousand  and  thirty-nine  dollars  which  the  Com- 
mission had  advised  should  be  paid  the  Crow  Creek 
Indians  because  the  per  capita  amount  of  land  on  their 
reserve  was  less  than  that  on  the  others,  being  only  two 
hundred  and  sixty  acres. J 

It  has  seemed  necessary  to  dwell  at  some  length  upon 
this  so-called  "  outbreak "  of  1890,  because  its  nature 
was  characteristic  of  the  temper  and  condition  of  the 
Indians.  The  first  point  to  be  noted  is  the  fact  that  the 
Sioux  were  no  longer  a  united  people.  Their  experiences 
of  the  last  twenty  years  had  broken  tribal  relations  and 
community  of  interests.  A  sense  of  individual  responsi- 
bility and  personal  independence  had  begun  to  dawn 
upon  them.  This  was  illustrated  in  the  sharp  distinction 
between  the  progressive  and  non-progressive  parties. 
Furthermore,  the  great  body  of  the  Sioux  were  friendly 
to  the  Government.  Under  circumstances  which  they 
would  once  have  eagerly  seized  upon  as  an  excuse  to 
take  up  arms,  they  remained  peaceful  and  quiet.  It  is 
probably  true  that  a  small  party  under  the  leadership  of 


*  See  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XXVI,  720. 

t  See  ibid.,  1001-2. 

$  The  Crow  Creek  and  Lower  Brul6  Indians  numbered  the  same,  yet 
the  latter  received  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  thousand  and  thirty- 
nine  acres  more  than  the  former.  Hence  the  Commission  urged  the 
former  should  be  given  one  hundred  and  eighty- seven  thousand  and 
thirty-nine  dollars,  that  is  one  dollar  for  each  acre  which  in  justice  they 
should  have  received  but  did  not.  Report  and  Proceedings  of  the  Sioux 
Commission  :  Sen.  Ex.  Docs.,  51st  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  No.  51,  pp.  30-1. 


THE    SIOUX   FROM    1850   TO   1893.  139'' 


Sitting  Bull  and  others  were  preparing  to  break  away 
from  their  treaty  relations  in  the  spring,  but  this  was 
made  up  largely  of  the  wilder  element  which  had  come 
into  the  reservation  during  the  last  decade  and  had  not 
yet  adjusted  itself  to  the  new  environment. 

Altogether,  considering  the  unsettled  condition  of  the 
Indians  consequent  upon  the  rapid  changes  in  their  life 
during  the  preceding  thirty  years,  the  unfortunate  cir- 
cumstances which  combined  to  make  them  hopeless  and 
despondent,  and  the  peculiar  temptations  wThich  befell 
them  to  revert  back  to  the  old  savage  life — considering 
these  things,  the  wonder  is  not  that  there  was  an  out- 
break in  1890,  but  that  the  proportions  which  it  assumed 
were  so  small.  This  must  afford  encouragement  rather 
than  discouragement  as  to  the  ultimate  solution  of  tha 
Sioux  problem.  The  fact  that  progress  has  been  made 
proves  capacity  therefor.  It  remains  now  to  surround 
this  capacity  by  such  conditions  as  will  cause  it  to  bear 
fruit. 


CHAPTER  V. 
THE  YANKTONS  FROM  1850  TO  1893. 

The  division  of  the  great  Sioux  family  into  the  Sioux 
of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Sioux  of  the  Plains  was  made 
on  the  basis  of  their  geographical  location.  That  for  a 
time  this  location  determined  the  attitude  of  the  Indians 
toward  the  Government,  and  of  the  Government  toward 
the  Indians,  is  apparent  on  the  surface.  The  Mississippi 
Sioux  were  settled  upon  reservations  and  brought  to  an 
agricultural  life  sooner  than  the  Missouri  Sioux,  simply 
because  they  came  in  contact  with  our  civilization  earlier. 
Not  until  our  frontiers  had  pushed  themselves  further 
westward  were  the  Sioux  of  the  Plains  brought  into  close 
relationship  with  the  .United  States.  The  Yanktons,  as 
being  the  most  easterly  band  of  these  wilder  Indians, 
were  the  first  to  be  influenced  by  our  civilization  policy. 
Their  history,  from  1858  on,  is  so  entirely  separate  from 
that  of  their  kinsmen  that  it  has  seemed  best  to  give  it  a 
separate  chapter. 

In  the  year  1851  the  Sisseton,  Wahpeton,  Mdewakan- 
tonwan,  and  Wahpekute  bands  had  ceded  a  large  territory 
to  the  United  States.  The  Yanktons  insisted  that  this 
territory  had  in  part  belonged  to  them,  and  that  their 
right  to  it  should  have  been  recognized  in  this  treaty  ; 
and  they  made  themselves  especially  troublesome  when- 
ever the  annuities  were  paid.  Finally,  February  19, 
1858,  the  Government  made  a  treaty*  with  them. 


*  U.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XI,  743-9. 


THE   YANKTONS   FROM    1850   TO   1893.  141 

Article  I  provided  that  the  Yanktons  cede  all  their 
lands  to  the  United  States  except  four  hundred  thousand 
acres  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Dakota,*  to  be  set  aside 
as  a  reservation  for  them. 

Article  II  defined  the  boundaries  of  the  land  ceded. 

Article  III  gave  the  United  States  the  right  to  con- 
struct roads  across  the  reservation,  a  fair  equivalent  to 
be  paid  for  land  so  used.f 

Article  IV  provided  that  the  United  States  protect  the 
Indians  in  the  peaceable  enjoyment  of  their  reservation  ; 
and  pay  them  annually  $65,000  for  the  first  ten  years, 
$40,000  for  the  next  ten  years,  $25,000  for  the  next  ten 
years,  and  $15,000  for  the  next  twenty  years,  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  to  be  given  discretionary  power  over 
the  expenditure  of  this  money,  and  the  annuities  to  be 
discontinued  if  the  Indians  should  not  make  "reasonable 
and  satisfactory  efforts  to  advance  and  improve  their 
condition."!  The  United  States  further  promised  to  pay 
the  Indians  $25,000  to  maintain  them  during  the  first 
year  after  their  removal  and  to  assist  them  in  beginning 
an  agricultural  life  ;  to  spend  $10,000  for  educational 
purposes,  the  Indians  to  send  all  their  children  between 
the  ages  of  seven  and  eighteen  to  school,  and  those  not 
doing  so  to  be  deprived  of  a  portion  of  their  annuities  ; 
and  to  erect  "a  mill  suitable  for  grinding  grain  and- 


*  "  Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Naw-izi-wa-koo-pah  or  Chonteau 
river  ;  thence  down  said  river  to  the  place  of  beginning,  so  as  to  include 
the  said  quantity  of  four  hundred  thousand  acres."  U.  S.  Statutes  at 
Large,  XI,  744. 

t  This  same  article  provided  that  the  Yanktons  remove  to  their 
reservation  within  a  year  from  the  date  of  the  treaty. 

$  TJ.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XI,  745. 


142  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

sawing  timber,"*   and    make    other   improvements   not 
exceeding  in  value  $15,000. 

Article  V  bound  the  Indians  not  to  destroy  any  of  the 
improvements  made  by  the  Government,  and,  in  case  of 
such  destruction,  to  pay  for  the  same  with  their  annuities. 

Article  VI  empowered  the  chiefs  and  headmen  in 
•open  council  to  authorize  a  certain  portion  of  their 
annuities,  not  exceeding  in  the  aggregate  $150,000,  to  be 
paid  to  satisfy  their  just  debts,  and  to  provide  for  such 
•of  their  half-breeds  as  did  not  live  upon  the  reservation 
or  draw  annuities  ;  not  more  than  $15,000  to  be  used  for 
this  purpose  in  one  year. 

Article  VIII  provided  that  the  Yanktons  be  secured  in 
the  free  use  of  so  much  of  the  Red  Pipestone  quarry  as 
they  had  been  accustomed  to  frequent  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  stone  for  pipes. 

Article  IX  gave  the  United  States  the  right  to  establish 
"  military  posts,  roads,  and  Indian  agencies  "f  upon  the 
-reservation,  due  compensation  to  be  made  for  any  injury 
.to  the  property  of  the  Yanktons. 

Article  X  provided  for  the  exclusion  of  all  but  duly 
authorized  persons  from,  the  reservation,  and  prohibited 
the  Indians  from  disposing  of  any  of  their  land  except  to 
the  United  States.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  was 
given  discretionary  power  to  cause  the  reservation  to  be 
surveyed  and  allotted,  each  head  of  a  family  or  single 
person  to  receive  a  separate  farm,  with  such  rights  of 
possession  as  the  Secretary  might  deem  just. 

Article  XII  provided  that  annuities  be  withheld  from 
cthose  who  should  drink  intoxicating  liquors  or  procure 


*  TJ.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XI,  746. 
t  IT.  S.  Statutes  at  Large,  XI,  746. 


THE   YANKTONS   FROM    1850   TO   1893.  143 

them  for  others,  and  from  those  who  should  in  any  way 
violate  the  terms  of  the  treaty. 

Article  XIV  provided  that  the  United  States  be  free 
from  all  obligations  toward  the  Yanktons  except  those 
under  this  treaty  and  the  Fort  Laramie  treaty  of 
1851.* 

The  reservation  upon  which  the  Yanktons  were  settled 
contained  about  ninety -five  per  cent,  of  good,  arable  land 
especially  adapted  to  wheat-raising  ;  the  remainder  was 
suitable  for  pasture.  There  was,  however,  always  the 
chance  that  the  crops  would  be  eaten  or  destroyed  by 
grasshoppers.  The  Indians  showed  themselves  pos- 
sessed of  a  good  deal  of  adaptability.  They  at  once  set- 
tled down  upon  their  reservation  and  made  an  auspicious 
beginning  in  their  new  life.  Their  annuities  were  small, 
but  for  the  first  few  years  they  supported  themselves  eas- 
ily by  farming  and  hunting.  Throughout  the  war  of  1862 
they  remained  loyal  to  the  Government,  and  furnished 


*  Article  VII  provided  that  certain  persons  who  had  been  of  service 
to  the  Yanktons  receive  allotments  upon  the  ceded  lands. 

Article  XI  provided  that  the  Yanktons  commit  no  depredations,  pre- 
serve peaceful  relations  with  other  tribes  and  with  the  United  States, 
and  deliver  to  the  proper  Government  officers  "  all  offenders  against  the 
treaties,  laws,  or  regulations  of  the  United  States." 

Article  XIII  provided  that  no  part  of  the  annuities  be  taken  to  satisfy 
claims  except  those  named  in  this  treaty,  or  those  which  might  arise  un- 
der it,  or  under  the  trade  and  intercourse  laws. 

Article  XV  provided  that  an  agent  be  appointed  for  the  Yanktons. 

Article  XVI  provided  that  the  expenses  of  making  this  treaty  and  of 
surveying  the  reservation  and  the  Red  Pipestone  quarry  be  borne  by  the 
United  States. 

Article  XVII  provided  that  this  treaty  be  binding  as  soon  as  ratified 
by  the  Senate  and  the  President. 


144  RELATIONS   WITH   THE    SIOUX   INDIANS. 

fifty  scouts*  who  did  us  most  excellent  service.  Until 
1864  the  Yanktons  progressed  rapidly,  but  for  nearly  a 
decade  of  years  after  that  they  were  in  a  miserable  state. 
The  Government  either  failed  to  keep  its  treaty  promises 
or  administered  the  affairs  of  the  Indians  so  badly  that 
it  amounted  to  the  same  thing. f  Their  agency  buildings 
were  in  a  dilapidated  condition  ;  their  crops  repeatedly 
failed,  either  because  not  planted  in  time  or  because  de- 
stroyed by  the  grasshoppers  ;  they  suffered  from  the  spo- 
liations of  the  soldiers,  and  the  Government  delayed 
paying  the  ten  thousand  dollars  which  Congress  had 
appropriated  as  indemnity. 

With  the  early  seventies  came  a  change  for  the  better. 
The  United  States  assisted  the  tribe  with  liberal  appro- 
priations. The  Episcopal  Church  and  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  did  good 


*  These  scouts  received  no  compensation  but  arms,  ammunition, 
clothing,  and  rations  until  thirty  years  later,  when,  by  the  agreement  of 
December  31,  1892,  they  were  awarded  $225  each.  See  Report  of  Com- 
missioner of  Indian  Affairs  for  1894,  p.  448. 

t  "  Agent  Conger  found  the  Yanctons  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  con- 
dition and  expressing  much  discontentment,  and  complaining  that  the 
Government  had  not  kept  its  promises  to  them.  *  *  *  He  reported  the 
agency  buildings  in  a  dilapidated  condition,  and  everything  run  down ; 
no  cattle  or  stock,  farming  tools  few  and  in  bad  condition,  and  very 
small  preparation  for  a  crop  this  year.  *  *  *  There  is  no  school  on 
the  reservation,  and  none  has  been  in  existence,  although  the  treaty  pro- 
vides liberally  for  one,  and  the  vouchers  of  late  Agent  Burleigh  are  on 
file  for  the  expenditure  of  considerable  sums  of  money  for  the  purpose." 
Report  of  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1865-6  :  Report  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  39th  Cong.,  1st  Sess.,  194. 

Being  advised  of  the  condition  of  the  Yanktons,  Congress  ordered 
special  inquiry  to  be  made  into  their  matters  and  a  report  thereon.  This 
report  I  have  been  unable  to  find,  but  it  seems  certain  that  it  resulted  in 
a  better  administration  of  the  Yankton  affairs. 


THE    YANKTONS    FROM    1850   TO    1893.  145 

work.  Sheep  and  cattle-raising  were  introduced,  and 
material  prosperity  increased.  After  a  time  a  court  of 
Indian  offenses  was  established  and  Indian  police  were 
put  on  duty.  When  the  Land  in  Severalty  Bill  was  passed, 
the  Yankton  reservation  was  one  of  the  first  made  sub- 
ject to  its  action.  167,324.12  acres  were  allotted  to  1,484 
Indians,  and  851.88  acres  reserved  for  agency,  church, 
and  school  purposes.  Under  the  act  of  February  28, 
1891,  which  provided  that  all  members  of  a  tribe  have 
equal  amounts  of  land,  1,128  more  allotments,  embracing 
96,762  acres,  were  made.  About  one-half  of  these  were 
additions  to  those  made  under  the  Land  in  Severalty  Bill. 
The  surplus  lands  of  this  reservation  amounted  to  167,- 
303  acres.  Under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  1887,  a  Com- 
mittee was  appointed  October  1,  1892,  to  negotiate  with 
the  Yanktons  for  the  sale  of  this  unallotted  land.  The 
first  agreement  presented  by  the  Commissioners  provided 
that  Government  cause  "the  land  to  be  appraised  under 
certain  restrictions,  and  sold  to  the  highest  bidder,  who 
also  must  be  an  actual  settler."  *  The  land  was  not  to  be 
sold  at  less  than  the  appraised  value  ;  and  the  proceeds 
of  the  sale  were  to  become  a  permanent  fund  whose  an- 
nual interest  should  be  distributed  among  the  members 
of  the  tribe.  The  Indians  favored  this  proposition,  but 
before  action  could  be  taken  upon  it  a  disagreement 
arose  among  the  Commissioners,  as  a  result  of  which  one 
of  them  resigned.  The  appraisement  plan  was  then  laid 
aside,  and  a  new  agreement  drawn  up.  This  provided 
for  the  cession  of  the  surplus  lands  for  the  gross  sum  of 
six  hundred  thousand  dollars,  equal  to  about  three 


*  Report  of  E.  W.  Foster,  Yankton  Agent:  Report  of  the  Cornmis 
sioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1893,  p.  312. 


146  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX   INDIANS. 

dollars  and  sixty  cents  per  acre.  There  was  decided 
opposition  to  the  second  agreement,  especially  among 
the  more  intelligent  Indians.  They  said  that  land 
in  their  near  neighborhood  was  valued  at  ten 
dollars  and  twenty  dollars  per  acre,  and  that  their 
own  was  worth  quite  as  much  ;  but  that  they  would  sell 
on  the  appraisement  plan,  and  only  on  that  plan,  fixing 
the  minimum  price  at  six  dollars  per  acre.*  "  The  Com- 
missioners, however,  were  determined  to  make  a  success 
of  their  undertaking,  and,  when  the  opposition  showed 
strength,  they  became  liberal  in  expending  money.  They 
employed  a  small  army  of  interpreters,  couriers,  and  mes- 
sengers. Councils  were  called,  harangues  made,  and  feasts 
given/'f  In  this  way  enough  signatures  were  obtained, 


*  "  Gentlemen,"  said  they,  "you  have  a  wrong  conception  of  our 
rights  on  this  reservation.  .You  seem  to  regard  our  title  to  this  land  as 
parallel  to  that  of  the  Western  Sioux  to  the  Great  Sioux  reservation  re- 
cently ceded.  Their  title  was  simply  the  right  of  occupancy.  Ours  is  a 
title  in  fee ;  it  is  the  solemn  pledge  of  the  Government  to  protect  this 
tribe  in  the  peaceable  possession  of  this  land  as  a  home  forever.  Now, 
although  we  have  accepted  allotments  in  severalty,  and  a  considerable 
body  of  land  is  left  unallotted,  yet  we  are  not  compelled  to  sell  it  at  less 
than  it  is  worth.  Wild  land  adjoining  the  reservation  of  similar  charac- 
ter sells  from  ten  dollars  to  twenty  dollars  per  acre.  We  believe  that 
fifty  thousand  acres  of  our  land  would  sell  on  an  unrestricted  market 
for  twenty  dollars  per  acre.  We  believe  that  within  the  next  ten  years 
our  lands  will  sell  for  twenty-five  dollars  to  fifty  dollars  per  acre. 
Now  we  believe  that  it  would  be  for  the  best  interests  of  this  tribe  to  sell 
these  surplus  lands  at  a  fair  price  so  that  we  can  have  white  people  for 
our  near  neighbors,  and  therefore  we  will  agree  to  cede  our  lands  on  the 
plan  you  first  proposed,  fixing  the  minimum  price  at  six  dollars  per  acre, 
but  otherwise  we  shall  oppose  a  sale."  Quoted  in  Report  of  E.  W.  Foster, 
United  States  Indian  Agent  at  Yankton :  Keport  of  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs  for  1893,  p.  311. 

+  Report  of  E.  W.  Foster,  United  States  Indian  Agent :  Report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1893,  p.  311. 


THE    YANKTONS    FROM    1850   TO    1893.  147 

but  the  worth  of  some  of  them  may  be  judged  from  the 
following  words  of  Agent  Foster  :  "  Since  then  those 
whose  names  were  attached  to  the  document  have  asked 
me  many  times  what  their  names  are  signed  to,  and  many 
of  those  who  refused  to  sign  have  desired  me  to  ascertain 
the  terms  of  the  agreement  they  declined  to  sign  ;  but  as 
no  copy  of  it  was  left  here,  and  as  it  was  never  read  in 
open  meeting  but  once,  and  was  kept  closely  sealed  from 
the  public,  I  have  not  been  able  to  make  any  satisfactory 
explanation."* 

When  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs 
for  1893  was  written  this  agreement  was  still  on  file  with 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  no  action  had  been 
taken  for  its  transmittal  to  Congress.f  In  addition  to 
the  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  be  paid  the  tribe  for 
the  cession,  the  agreement  provided  that  twenty  dollars 
be  paid  each  adult  male. 

The  Yanktons  may  now  be  reckoned  among  the  civil- 
ized communities  of  the  United  States.  For  the  most 
part  they  wear  citizens'  clothes  and  live  in  houses  ;  they 
own  their  land  in  fee  simple  and  are  fairly  successful  in 
cultivating  it ;  they  have  churches  and  schools  ;  finally, 
they  are  citizens.  But  there  are  still  dangers  ahead  of 
them,  and  the  greatest  are  those  that  have  to  do  with  the 
much  mooted  question  of  law.  Their  agent  writes  that 
"  their  relationship  with  local  State  authorities  has  not 
changed.  The  reservation  has  been  within  an  organized 
county  for  many  years,  yet  the  county  authorities  decline 
to  recognize  the  Indians  or  any  of  the  residents  of  the 

*  Report  of  E.  W.  Foster,  United  States  Indian  Agent :  Report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1893,  p.  311. 

t  Since  then  the  agreement  has  been  ratified.  See  Report  of  the 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1894,  444-450. 


148  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

reserve  as  entitled  to  the  rights  and  privileges  of  citizen- 
ship. The  Constitution  of  the  State  of  South  Dakota 
expressly  disclaims  any  right  or  title  to  any  lands  owned 
or  held  by  an  Indian  or  Indian  tribe  that  are  exempt 
from  taxation,  and  this  is  held  to  disclaim  any  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  acts,  either  civil  or  criminal,  of  the  residents 
within  an  Indian  country."*  Thus  the  Yanktons,  as 
indeed  the  rest  of  our  Indian  citizens,  are  still  hampered 
in  their  development  by  the  lack  of  proper  State  legisla- 
tion. 


*  Eeport  of  E.  W.  Foster,  United  States  Indian  Agent  at  Yankton  : 
Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1893,  p.  307.  • 


CHAPTER  VI. 
STATUS  OF  THE  Sioux  IN  1893. 

In  1893  the  Sioux  were  under  the  supervision  of  ten 
agencies.*  At  all  of  these  the  Indians  were  leading  a 
more  or  less  settled  life,  and,  except  for  those  at  Fort 
Peck,  had  begun  to  partially  support  themselves.  Pro- 
gress had  been  most  marked  at  Sisseton,  Santee,  Yank- 
ton,  and  Devil's  Lake  agencies,  and  for  several  reasons. 
These  Indians  were  the  first  to  leave  off  their  nomadic 
life  and  to  settle  down  to  agriculture.!  The  reservations 
upon  which  they  had  been  placed  had  been  of  fairly 
good  character  ;  the  soil  was  rich  and  fertile  and  repaid 
the  toil  of  cultivation,  though  the  crops  were  sometimes 
ruined  by  drought  and  parching  winds.  The  Indians  at 
these  agencies  lived  in  houses  and  had  largely  adopted 
the  habits  and  customs  of  civilized  life  ;  all,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  at  Devil's  Lake,  had  received  allotments 


*  See  second  map.  Besides  these  there  was  a  small  band  of  Mdewa- 
kantonwan  Sioux  in  Minnesota,  not  living  upon  a  reservation  and  having 
no  treaty  relations  with  the  Government.  In  various  Indian  appropria- 
tion acts  the  aggregate  sum  of  fifty-eight  thousand  dollars  had  been  set 
aside  for  these  Indians,  and  October  16,  1886,  a  special  agent  was  ap- 
pointed to  purchase  lands  for  them.  See  Report  of  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs  for  1891,  1, 110-2. 

t  The  Yanktons  did  not  settle  down  until  1858,  but  that  was  ten 
years  before  the  other  Sioux  of  the  Plains  were  placed  upon  a  reservation. 

Sisseton  and  Santee  reservations  had  been  thrown  open  to  settle- 
ment under  the  Homestead  Law. 


150  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

in  severally  and  were  citizens  of  the  United  States.  This 
as  yet  meant  little  to  them,  since  they  had  not  thus  far 
been  educated  to  an  appreciation  of  their  obligations  and 
privileges.  With  the  Sioux  at  Flandreau,*  under  the 
control  of  the  Santee  agency,  it  was  otherwise.  Their 
agent  spoke  of  them  as  sober,  steady,  industrious,  and 
law-abiding.  They  were,  moreover,  the  only  Sioux  who 
were  entirely  self-supporting. 

The  Crow  Creek  and  Lower  Brule  Indians  were  in  a 
stage  intermediate  between  the  above  and  the  so-called 
Sioux  of  the  Plains.  They  were  not  quite  so  far  advanced 
as  the  Mississippi  Sioux,  but  were  making  rapid 
progress.  Four  hundred  and  ninety  families  were  living 
upon  and  cultivating  allotments  in  severalty.  A  large 
proportion  were  engaged  in  agriculture  and  stock-raising. 
The  uncertainty  of  the  climate  inclined  the  Indians  to 
the  latter.  Nearly  all  wore  citizen's  dress. 

The  rest  of  the  Sioux  of  the  Plains  were  on  Pine  Ridge, 
Rosebud,  Standing  Rock,  Cheyenne  River,  and  Fort  Peck 
reservations.  They  had  made  little  progress  since  1868, 
a  fact  to  be  attributed  partially  to  the  utter  unfitness  of 
their  lands  for  agriculture.  The  Indian  Appropriation 
Act  of  1893  made  provision  for  the  sinking  of  an  artesian 
well  at  Rosebud,  one  at  Standing  Rock,  and  one  at  Pine 
Ridge,  these  wells  to  be  used  for  irrigating  purposes. 
They  were,  however,  still  of  the  future.  The  Indians 
were  devoting  themselves  to  stock-raising  and  were  mak- 
ing some  advance  along  this  line.  Fifty-six  allotments 


*  These,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  taken  up  homesteads  under  the 
sixth  article  of  the  treaty  of  1868.  This  would  seem  to  indicate  that  they 
were  more  enterprising  than  most  of  their  kinsmen.  They  had,  more- 
over, been  citizens  for  about  twenty  years. 


STATUS    OP   THE    SIOUX   IN    1893.  151 

had  been  made  at  Rosebud,  but  none  elsewhere.     The 
Fort  Peck*  Indians  stood  lowest  in  civilization. 

According  to  the  statistics  of  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
missioner of  Indian  Affairs  for  1893,  the  Sioux  numbered 
twenty-four  thousand  nine  hundred  and  seventy-one. 
There  were  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety  living 
upon  and  cultivating  allotments  in  severalty.  There 
were  seventy-eight  schools  upon  the  reservations,  with 
an  average  attendance  of  three  thousand  two  hundred 
and  forty-two  children.  The  support  of  these  schools 
cost  the  Government  $371,615.16,  and  other  parties  $49,- 
768.72.  Thus  $421,383.88  were  spent  for  the  education  of 
the  Sioux  during  this  year.  Despite  the  above  figures, f 
which  are  certainly  hopeful,  it  may  be  questioned  whether 
the  Government  did  its  utmost  for  the  Indians.  It 
failed  to  enforce  compulsory  attendance.  Many  of  the 
Indians  do  not  see  that  education  is  absolutely  necessary 
in  order  that  they  may  become  fitted  for  citizenship. 
Neither  do  they  understand  its  relation  to  the  question 
of  self-support.  Their  annuities  will  cease  and  they  will 
then  have  to  care  for  themselves  unless  the  United  States 
should  voluntarily  assist  them.  This  the  Government  is 
not  bound  to  do.  But  it  has  a  duty  in  another  direction. 
It  must  educate  the  Indians  to  an  appreciation  of  their 
true  condition,  and  this  must  be  done  largely  through 
schools.  While,  therefore,  the  school  report  of  the  Sioux 
for  1893  is  encouraging,  it  is  not  all  that  could  be  wished. 
The  enforcement  of  compulsory  attendance,  and  larger 


*  These  Indians  have  not  been  treated  in  this  paper.  A  history  of 
their  relations  with  the  United  States  Government  would  be  simply 
another  illustration  of  the  principles  already  brought  out. 

t  See  Tables  of  Statistics,  numbers  3  and  4. 


152  RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 

appropriations  for  the  accommodation  of  the  additional 
pupils  that  will  thus  be  secured,  are  necessary.  This,  to- 
gether with  civil  service  reform,  will  smooth  the  path 
which  the  Indians  must  tread  to  ultimate  competition 
with  the  whites.  The  Sioux  are  a  brave  people,  and 
superior  to  most  of  their  race  in  mental  ability.  In  the 
midst  of  a  proper  environment  there  is  no  reason  why 
they  should  not  ultimately  become  intelligent  and  self- 
supporting  citizens.  Their  future,  together  with  that 
of  the  other  Indian  tribes,  will  depend  largely  upon  the 
Government's  conscientious  performance  of  duty  toward 
them.  The  attitude  of  the  American  people,  as  reflected 
in  Congress,  will  determine  the  solution  of  the  Indian 
problem. 


STATUS    OF   THE    SIOUX   IN    1893. 


158 


TABLE  No.  1. 
Statistics  relating  to  Indian  Schools  among  the  Sioux.* 


Name  of  Agency. 

Number 
of  Schools 

Average 
Attendance 

Amount  Expended  in  Education 

By  Government 

By  Religious  So- 
cieties 

Standing  River  

3 

90 

$6,460 

$1,500 

Cheyenne  River  

5 

81 

5,420 

Crow  Creek  

1 

28 

Lower  Brul6  

4 

36 

Rosebud  

1 

23 

430 

350 

Pine  Ridge  

3 

59 

1,080 

280 

*  Compiled  from  the  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1880. 


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RELATIONS    WITH    THE    SIOUX    INDIANS. 


TABLE  No.  4. 

Statistics  relating  to  Schools  among  the  Sioux  during  the  Year 
ending  June  30,  1893* 


Name  of  Agency 

Number  of 
Schools 

Average  At- 
tendance 

Cost  to  Gov- 
ernment 

Cost  to 
Other  Par- 
ties 

Board- 
ing 

Day 

Board- 
ing 

Day 

Devil's  Lake   

2 

3 

358 

52 

$56,473.61 

83,100.00 

Sisseton  and  Wahpeton  

2 

134 

23,452.59 

6,372.64 

Yankton  
Santee  

2 
3 
4 
2 
2 
3 
4 
1 

1 

20 
15 
8 
6 

53 

142 
282 
319 
232 
141 
218 
135 
27 

35 

478 
390 
199 
100 

22,108.11 
87,764.17 
45,694.00 
49,006.64 
26,005.52 
35,448.87 
23,412.62 
2,249.03 

3,600.00 
13,435.63 
4,291.45 

12,500.00 
3,000.00 
3,469.00 

$49,768.72 

Crow  Creek  and  Lower  BrulS  .  . 
Pine  Ridge  

Rosebud.. 

Standing  Rock. 

Forest  City 

Fort  Peck.. 

25 

1,988 

1,254 

$371,615.16 

*  Compiled  from  the  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  for  1893. 


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